• The disease is a destructive one, widely distributed wherever the crop is grown.
• Severe reduction in seed and oil yield reported.
• The most affected components are number of seeds per head and the seed yield per plant.

• The disease also affects the quality of sunflower seeds by affecting germination and initial vigour of the seedlings.
• The disease is characterised by the development of dark brown to black, circular to oval spots varying from 0.2 to 5 in diameter.
• The spots are surrounded by necrotic chlorotic zone with grey white necrotic centre marked with concentric rings.
• Spots first appear on lower leaves, later spread to middle and upper leaves.
• At later stages, spots may be formed on petioles, stem and ray florets.

Management

• Occurrence and severity of the disease depends on the season and planting dates.
• Mid-September planting of sunflower remains free from the disease.
• Foliar spray with 0.3 per cent Mancozeb four times at an interval of 10 days controls the disease.