“The affected canes exhibit leaf colour change, from green to orange and then to yellow in the third or fourth leaf. Then the leaves start drying from bottom to top. If the fungal spores enter the leaf sheath through the leaf midrib, then reddish spots can be seen on the back side of the leaf midrib also. The external symptoms appear only after16 – 21 days after infection and drying of entire cane takes another 10 days time. When the affected cane is split opened, the inner region is reddish in colour with intermittent white tinges across the cane length. Sometimes, the pith inside the cane is filled with blackish brown liquid and exhibited alchohol odour.”