a disease of chestnuts, especially the American chestnut, characterized by bark lesions that girdle and eventually kill the tree, caused by a fungus, Endothia parasitica.
Origin
1905-10, Americanism
Examples from the web for chestnut blight
Non-native plant diseases include dogwood anthracnose, sycamore anthracnose, and chestnut blight.
The threat of chestnut blight often deters this decision by land managers.