Bamboo produces new culms from buds on subterranean rhizomes during the monsoon, generally from early June until late August.
Expansion of culms continues until October. Blight significantly affects culms in August, the disease being at its worst by mid-November.
Subsequently, there is little or no increase in the number of blighted culms.

Diagnostic symptoms of the blight are described. Coniothyrium fuckelii Sace. and Acrenwnium strictum W. Gams were the two most commonly isolated fungi from blighted bamboos.

Artificial inoculation tests have established that A. strictum (Herb. I. M. I. 278366) is pathogenic on new branches which developed from ground layered culm cuttings of Bambusa balcooa Roxb. at the Forest Research Institute campus, and on naturally grown culm of B. vulgaris Scrad at Nowapara, Chittagong. The pathogenic ability of the fungus is discussed.