First report of Phoma sp. in small cardamom [Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton] from Western Ghats, India

A new disease has recently been observed in small cardamom grown in various parts of Cardamom Hill Reserves in Idukki district, Kerala, India. The disease is characterized by the development of longitudinal sunken lesions of varying length and colour on tillers as well as subsequent splitting and separation of sheaths. Lesions may occasionally appear on leaf sheaths and later spread along the tiller. Lesions on tillers as well as leaf sheaths turn cream in colour with reddish brown margin as the infection progresses. Symptoms develop on leaves as elongated brown lesions with a greyish brown centre. Based on the morphological and molecular studies, the pathogen was identified as Phoma sp. This is the first report of Phoma infection in small cardamom from Western Ghats of India.