This pathogen has a worldwide distribution, with reports from Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Congo, Denmark, Egypt, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Solomon Islands, and the United States.

[2] Cochliobolus carbonum is pathogenic to all organs of the corn plant including root, stalk, ear, kernel, and sheath.

[8] The genus Cochliobolus is distinguished by the presence of dark to black ascomata with a unilocular, globose pseudothecium and a short, cylindrical neck.

[10] Conidia are straight to moderately curved, occasionally cylindrical but usually broad in the middle and tapering towards the rounded ends, distoseptate, and 36-100 X 12-18 μm.

[14] Cochliobolus carbonum is the sexual stage and can be obtained by pairing opposite mating single conidial isolates in Sach's agar media with sterilized maize leaf segments or barley grains incubated at 24 °C.

[11] Horizontal and vertical gene transfer has occurred within and between fungal species of Cochliobolus and might be the reason for occurrence of highly virulent, toxin producing races of C. heterostrophus, C. carbonum and C.

In general, moderate temperature, high relative humidity, and heavy dew during the growing season favors the development of this disease.

[20] Senescent corn leaves are an important plant part for the growth and development of C. carbonum, because it provides biochemicals required for the formation of perithecia, asci and ascospores.

[22] Another genus Pseudocochliobolus was separated from Cochliobolus based on the presence of stromatic tissue below the ascomata and the degree of ascospore coiling.

A phylogenetic analysis of Cochliobolus, Bipolaris and Curvularia species was performed using rDNA markers (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and a 600 bp fragment of gpd (glyceraldehyde-3 dehydrogenase) gene.

[14] The results showed that most isolates of Cochliobolus and Bipolaris including C. carbonum, that cause serious crop losses, form a separate group from other species.

[14] Another phylogenetic study was conducted using a combined analysis of rDNA ITS (internal transcribed spacer), GPDH (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase), LSU (large subunit) and EF1-α (translation elongation factor 1-α) and showed that this generic group is divided into two major lineages.

[24] In this paper, the authors claim that they have resolved nomenclatural conflict within this complex based on their phylogenetic data and suggest giving priority to the more commonly used generic names Bipolaris and Curvularia to represent these distinct lineages.