The causal organism has a very wide host range and is an important pathogen of many other economically important crops such as peanuts, alfalfa, grape, ivy, anthurium, eucalyptus, and koa. In the advanced stages, the collar and the entire root system becomes affected and numerous orange-red perithecia are produced in the collar area.
Leaves become chlorotic and petioles droop and the plant eventually dies.
It is not unusual for one plant in a planting hole to remain healthy while the other become infected. Cylindrocladium crotalariae is its imperfect stage. The pathogen produces numerous thick-walled, brown pigmented microsclerotia that are important for long term survival in the soil. The disease was first noticed in the Puna district of Hawaii island in 1970. The disease usually occurs during or following prolonged heavy rains in areas where drainage is poor.