Effect of submergence of rice plants on the development of sheath blight

Abstract

During the monsoon season, heavy and continuous rainfall keeps plants under water for extended periods of time. We studied the impact of submergence on sheath blight (ShB) infection in rice. Plants of a highly susceptible rice cultivar, Annapurna, were grown in pots well supplied with fertilizer. When the plants were at flowering stage, leaf sheaths of the second youngest leaves in each of three tillers per plant were inoculated with a sterilized rice “stem” piece colonized by the causal fungus, Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn.