Pearl Millet Diseases
Fungal Diseases

Downy Mildew

Plasmopara penniseti Kenneth & Kranz.

Symptoms: Small, diffuse, water-soaked stripes or spots expand to irregular brown stripes between the veins. Stripes may coalesce and turn necrotic. Streaks may enlarge beyond veins and turn greyish brown. "Down" of asexual sporulation is profuse and whitish to dingy. Only local lesions form. Usually only the lower leaves are affected.

Pathogen and disease characteristics: Sporangiophores emerge from stomata, branched dichotomously once or twice, then irregularly branched monopodially to subdichotomously two or three times at right angles. Oospores have not been observed.

Host range: Pearl millet.

Geographic distribution: Ethiopia.

Nomenclature discrepancies: Use of "downy mildew" as the common name for this disease may cause confusion with the more serious systemic disease caused by Sclerospora graminicola.

Seed transmission: Not known to be transmitted by seed.

Primary citations: Kenneth and Kranz 1973.

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United States Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service

The material on this page is in the public domain.

Original posting: June 5, 1999.