Cowpea Leaf Spots

(Cercospora sp., Aristastoma sp., Ascochyta sp., Colletotrichum sp., Stagnospora sp.)

Credits: Biovision-Infonet

Leaf spots are various sized often yellowish in colour or with a yellow halo, others brown to purplish; These normally develop first on lower leaves.

With Cercospora leaf spot a dark, mouldy growth develops on the lower leaf surface corresponding to the spot.

Leafspot diseases are most serious during periods of prolonged moist weather and on late plantings.

Severe leaf spotting results in defoliation with subsequent yield reductions.

What to do:

• Use certified disease-free seeds.
• Practise crop rotation with non-legumes (e.g. cereals).
• Avoid cultivating fields when foliage is wet.