10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.1.p1-12 Volume 4 Issue 2 2013 (April - June) lessThan i greaterThan Elephantopus scaber lessThan /i greaterThan is an important medicinal herb in India which is extensively used in the traditional system of medicine, for the treatment of various diseases and disorders in humans. A systematic study was carried out to determine the causal organism that caused foliar disease in Bhadra Wildlife sanctuary, the incidence and severity of foliar disease in lessThan i greaterThan E. scaber lessThan /i greaterThan growing extensively in its natural habitat during 2006-09. The spatial distribution of foliar fungal disease in lessThan i greaterThan E. scaber lessThan /i greaterThan was determined by modified Taylor's power law. The seedborne nature and transmission of the causal organism and its management by seed dressing with fungicides was also determined. The secondary metabolite content in infected foliages was determined. The present study indicated that lessThan i greaterThan Colletotrichum dematium lessThan /i greaterThan is a major foliar disease causing pathogen in lessThan i greaterThan E. scaber lessThan /i greaterThan . The foliar disease severity is high in Kagemanegiri forest region during November-December. The disease incidence is homogeneously distributed in all the nine forest regions of the study area. The causal pathogen is seedborne and seed transmitted and could be managed with Bavistin or Captra. The analysis of secondary metabolites in diseased foliages indicated that steroids decreased with increase in infection due to lessThan i greaterThan C. dematium, lessThan /i greaterThan while alkaloids, phenols and flavonoids increased upon infection. The study also suggested that foliar infection by lessThan i greaterThan C. dematium lessThan /i greaterThan might cause considerable damage to lessThan i greaterThan E. scaber lessThan /i greaterThan plants and could alter the quality of secondary metabolites. T.R. PARASHURAMA, M. M. VASANTHAKUMARI AND M.B. SHIVANNA Elephantopus scaber, Colletotrichum dematium, disease severity, seedborne, Bavistin, secondary metabolites 871-883