Description

Sclerotia elongate to globose, 3.6–6.1 x 1.3—1.6 mm, pale to dark brown, with or without conidia-containing cavities (Thakur et al., 1984). Germination by 1-16 fleshy purplish stalks, 6–26 mm long, each bearing apical, globular capitulum, light to dark brown with numerous perithecial ostioles. Perithecia immersed in head of stalked stroma developed from sclerotia. Asci interspersed with paraphyses, emerge through ostioles. Ascospores hyaline, filiform,non-septate, 103–176 x0.5 µm (Thakur et al., 1984). Conidia of two types, macroconidia and microconidia, developing both in culture and in honeydew on infected pearl millet panicles. Macroconidia hyaline, fusiform, unicellular, 12.0–26.5 x2.5–6.0 µm, producing 1–3 germ tubes from ends or sides. Microconidia hyaline, globular, unicellular, 2.5–11.0 x`1.0–5.0 µm, producing only one germ tube. Both macroconidia and microconidia are able to produce additional microconidia in chains from conidiophores formed by the germ tubes (Prakash et al., 1983). Primarily known on cultivated pear millet, Pennisetum glaucum divisum but also reported on related grasses, specifically Panicum antidotale (elbow grass), P. curviflorum (= P. trypheron), Pennisetum ciliare (? Cenchrus ciliaris), P. diversum, P. massaicum , P. squamulatum, and Setaria verticillata