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Cinnamomum tamala (bay leaf) is widely used for culinary and medicinal purposes in South Asia. A leaf blight/spot disease was first discovered on nearly 90% of C. tamala plants with a mean severity of 48% to 74.4% in Gazipur and Bogura, Bangladesh, in 2019. The present study identified and characterized the causal organism and formulated the optimum growth conditions and effective fungicides for the chemical control of the pathogen. The characteristic symptoms on the infected leaves appeared circular to oval reddish‐brown spots with raised margins and often developed in tear‐stain patterns. Severe infection of C. tamala sapling resulted in dieback symptoms with leaf defoliation. A fungus with floccose, dense, white colonies with well‐differentiated acervuli was isolated from the infected leaves. Combined cultural, morphological, and molecular characteristics identified the pathogen as Colletotrichum siamense. Inculcating healthy leaves and 1‐year‐old saplings of C. tamala with a conidial suspension of the fungus reproduced the same symptoms observed in the bay leaf orchard. The highest mycelial growth was recorded on V‐8 Juice Agar media, while the maximum radial mycelial growth and level of sporulation of the fungus were significantly higher in incubation temperature 30°C. Fungicide trials showed that carbendazim 50 WP, azoxystrobin, mancozeb, and trifloxystrobin, either singly or in combination, successfully reduced fungal mycelial growth in vitro. Therefore, disease management strategies should be opted to halt the further spread of this issue. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document the incidence of Colletotrichum leaf blight on C. tamala in Bangladesh and even in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on small firm growth in many countries focused on some specific factors, and no comprehensive research on this issue is available to draw the conclusion. Based on the concept of the theory of Resource Based View (RBV), a research framework is formulated in order to examine how resources like finance and financial literacy of the owner-manager affect financial and non-financial growth of small firms operating in Bangladesh. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires from 407 owner-managers of small firms operating in three divisions of Bangladesh where most of the small businesses are concentrated. Using partial least squares analysis, the paper found that both finance and financial literacy have positive and statistically significant relation with small firm financial and non-financial growth. The paper also showed that private organizations support moderates the relationships between finance, financial literacy and small firm financial and non-financial growth. From the findings, it is evident that if small firms have better access to financial resources and can earn required financial literacy and at the same time get proper and adequate support from private organizations, they will contribute more to the economy by achieving their financial and non-financial growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]