How to identify Rhizosphaera needle cast:

•In spring or early summer, new needles at the branch tips are green, and the older needles turn brown to purple.

•Use a magnifying glass to look closely at both green and discolored needles. Tiny black bumps can be seen arranged in neat rows on infected needles. These are the spore producing structures of the Rhizosphaera fungi.

•Discolored needles fall off in late summer to fall.

•Infected trees have few needles near the trunk and look thin, or see-through.

•Damage typically starts on the lower branches and moves up the tree.

•If the majority of needles are infected for 3 to 4 years in a row, the branch will die