Inoculation and Scoring Methods for Rice Sheath Blight Disease

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Sheath blight disease of rice caused by the soilborne fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani has been a major disease of rice with a serious threat to stable rice production worldwide. Although various cultural practices have been used to manage the disease, it is advantageous and important to screen rice germplasm and identify resistant rice cultivars for more effective disease control. Recent advances in methods for the fungal inoculation and disease evaluation have enabled a better measurement of host resistance by minimizing confounding factors from plant architectures and environmental conditions. This chapter introduces five such methods: (1) detached leaf method; (2) micro-chamber method; (3) mist-chamber method; (4) parafilm sachet method; and (5) aluminum foil method. These methods are useful for screening and evaluating disease reactions of rice germplasm and facilitating the genetic mapping of disease resistance genes.