It's not hard to find a good case of Dothistroma needle blight in Iowa. It's a common disease problem on Austrian pine. The fungus Mycosphaerella pini is responsible for the disease.
Early symptoms consist reddish-brown spots or bands on needles.
The ends of infected needles eventually turn brown from the banded area outward, with the base of the needles remaining green. Infected needles drop prematurely, with the lower branches usually showing early loss of needles first. Because of its susceptibility to needle and tip blight diseases, Austrian pine is no longer a recommended pine species for planting in Iowa. Prepared by Paula Flynn , Department of Plant Pathology Iowa State University , Ames, Iowa. This information subject to a usage policy .