Cultural Control
Management of
TLB and GLS
 Regular field monitoring will help
detect diseases on time : Monitor
field at least every four weeks
from whorl through dent stages
 Monitoring methodology:
During each monitoring,
randomly select observations
sites depending on the size of the
field (2 sites for one acre sized
field). Do not select along the
borders
 Within the observation site,
observe 3-4 rows of about 20 ft.
in length or 20 plants per site
 If the disease lesions are
observed on the lower leaves
especially when the plants
are near flowering stage ,then
monitoring must be done at
least every week.
Fungicide spray must be initiated
immediately if the lesions
are observed to be spreading
towards the ear leaf
 Infected maize stubbles are source
of infection for next growing season �ལ༌ཡོངས༌�ོ་ཤིང༌�ང༌�ོབས༌�ེ་བ། NPPC
. Therefore, stubbles should be
ploughed in right after harvesting for
National Plant Protection Centre
Department of Agriculture
decomposition. Semtokha: Thimphu
 Avoid planting in the same areas If
possible
Chemical Control
 Spray propiconazole @2m/litre water.
This fungicide had both curative and
systemic activity and is used against
both TLB and GLS. Use sandovit
sticker@2ml/litre water
 The best time to spray is 3 weeks before
flowering and silking or as soon as
lesions appear.
Contact us:
National Plant Protection Centre
Department of Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture and Forests
Semtokha, Thimphu Turcicum leaf Blight and Gray
Leaf Spot of Maize.
P O Box: 670 Patho, Leaflet 1
Tel: +975-02-351016/351665
Fax: +975-351656 Produced by:
Email: nppcsemtokha@gmail.com Pathology Unit
Website: www.nppc.gov.bt National Plant Protection Centre
Semtokha, Thimphu
Introduction
Turcicum Leaf Blight and Gray Leaf Spot
are two most important diseases that
have been recently recorded in Bhutan .
They cause significant losses when plants
are infected 2-3 weeks after silking.
Although GLS occur at higher altitude than
TLB, many maize fields in Eastern Bhutan
are infected by both the diseases.
Causal agents:
TLB is caused by the fungus Exserohilum
turcicum previously known as
Helminthosporium turcicum. GLS is
caused by another fungus Cercospora
zeae-maydis.
Host of Exserohilum
turcicum:
Maize and sorghum are the primary host
while millet and some other grass species
are secondary host.
Host of Cercospora
zeae-maydis:
Echinochloa colonum,sorghum halepense
and other species of sorghum
Symptoms caused by TLB
 Lesions first appear on lower leaves
as small water soaked spots. These
spots grow into elliptical brownish
grey lesions with pointed ends.
 The disease progresses upwards
infecting upper leaves.
 The symptoms of TLB can be
confused with bacterial wilt. TLB
produces lesions with definite
shapes .
Symptoms caused by GLS
Early lesions of GLS appear as pin-point,
olive green spots which later grow into
elongated, roughly– parallel (rectangular)
sided lesions with a yellow halo. Similar to
TLB, the lesions of GLS too start from the
lower leaves and progress upwards. Plants
are infected by both TLB and GLS where the
weather conditions are favourable. Heavy
infection of plants with TLB and GLS can
cause complete blight of plants.