ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on diseases of Finger millet / Ragi - Elesine coracana Gaertn, their symptoms, pathogen characters, epidemiology, and management. The diseases covered are Crazy top, Smut, Downy mildew, Foot Rot, Banded blight, Sheath blight, Bacterial leaf spot, Bacterial blight, Bacterial leaf stripe, Ragi mottle streak disease, Ragi severe mosaic disease, and Ragi streak disease. Among the several diseases that afflict finger millet, blast is not only widely distributed in almost all the finger millet growing regions of the world, but also it is the most destructive disease. The disease was reported for the first time in India, from Tanjore delta of Tamil Nadu by Mc Rae. The hyphae are intracellular or inter cellular, hyaline and septate and turns to brown when become old. Numerous conidiophores and conidia are formed in the middle portion of the lesions. Conidiophores are slender, thin walled, emerging singly or in groups, unbranched, geniculate and pale brown in colour.
