needle blight
A plant disease, especially of conifers, causing needles to turn reddish-brown and die. Technical term used in botany and forestry.
The pine tree got needle blight, and its needles turned brown.
Standard kanji spelling for this plant disease.
Variant spelling without the okurigana れ.
Compound of 赤枯れ (akagare, 'red withering') + 病 (byō, 'disease'). The exact derivation is uncertain; the name describes the reddish discoloration of affected foliage.