As a result you wind up with needles that are half to three-quarters brown from the tip inward. There should also be discrete spots present on the needles. It is easy to confuse this disease with winter injury so bear in mind when the damage appears and use a hand lens to look for dark structures erupting through the epidermis of the needles in association with the spots and bands, especially near lower end of the dead area. Dothistroma blight can be treated with fungicides, but the timing is different than would normally be used with spruce needle casts. Apply a protectant fungicide such as Bordeaux mixture or chlorothalonil in the spring before bud break to protect the older needles and a second time in the mid summer to protect the new needles.
Most infections occur during wet periods in mid summer.
This disease is typically not as damaging as needle diseases on spruce, but it can cause substantial losses if left uncontrolled. Control is very successful on ornamental plantings following two years of fungicide applications. Late blight continues to be a problem on tomatoes, recently causing infections on tomato fruits. The infected fruits develop a dry, brownish granular appearance on the skin . When cut open, the fruit are discolored internally .