Pests > Pests Entities > Fungi > False smut, Phoenix dactylifera (date), Vietnam

January 2004. A student in agronomy from Ho Chi Minh city, southern Vietnam sent images of a disease on Phoenix dactylifera (date) palms affected with spots of unusual appearance. The spots are about 1 mm diameter, and are all over the top surfaces of the leaves, both young and old.

It’s likely to be Graphiola leaf spot (Graphiola phoenicis): https://www.plantvillage.com/en/topics/dates/infos/diseases_and_pests_description_uses_propagation on P. dactylifera. It is known as false smut.

A PDF on the disease written by the University of Florida can be found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp140.