WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN

An airborn fungus known as Cercospora beticola can cause small brown spots to appear all over plant leaves. This most commonly occurs on sugar beets and leafy vegetables, however, it can occasionally affect houseplants as well. Apart from damaging the leaves, this fungus can also stunt the growth of the roots and the plant as a whole.

As with other fungal infections, Cercospora beticola can take hold if your plant has been left overly wet for a prolonged period of time — for example, if you accidentally left your plant standing in water for too long or if you overwatered it. This fungus thrives and spreads quickly in higher humidity and still air.

In addition to the threat of fungal infection, overwatering is very bad for plant health, so it's important to try and make sure you only give your plant as much water as it needs in order to keep it happy and disease-free.

SYMPTOMS

Cercospora beticola can be identified by the presence of any combination of the following:

• Small brown spots on the leaves - these can also be black or sometimes even somewhat transparent

• Poor overall plant health

• Withering and decaying of the leaves

• Development of unusual leaf coloring (such as yellowing or browning)