In other words, it can only attack those plants after the plants have been wounded and one of the spores of the fungus lands in the wound. Management Brown spot management should fit into the overall disease management program. The goal is to delay disease build-up. Rotation with another crop will allow time for the tobacco debris to decay therefore, leaving little or no food for the brown spot fungus. Stalk and root destruction helps prevent early infection by reducing availability of inoculum.
Early infection means faster build-up and greater disease severity by the end of the season.
High nematode levels also lead to increased brown spot damage. Therefore, nematodes should be controlled. Proper levels of potassium also should be available to the plant to insure vigorous growth. Infected leaves should be primed as soon as possible to reduce the number of spores available for pathogen spread. Proper plant spacing will decrease humidities around the plant, thus decreasing the incidence of brown spot.