Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch Research Paper

Horse Chestnut Leaf Blotch is caused by fungi called Phyllosticta sphaeropsoidea (syn. Guignardia aesculi, Phyllosticta paviae) infecting the Horse chestnut and Buckeye trees. In spring, discoloured, water-soaked spots are the first to appear. By mid to late Summer, reddish or dull brown, irregular blotches, sometimes with a yellow margin, and with tiny, black, spore-carrying, fruiting shapes within the blotches, appear on the leaves. The Horse chestnut leaf blotch lays dormant during the winter in fallen leaves, and releases its fruiting spores during the wet weather in Summer.
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The appearance of the Horse chestnut tree is unattractive with the leaf blotch. Young trees are vulnerable and can sustain severe harm.