Survey and Status of Rice Blast Caused by Magnaporthe Oryzae B.C. Couch in Commercial Rice Growing Areas of Kashmir

Survey and Status of Rice Blast Caused by Magnaporthe Oryzae B.C. Couch in Commercial Rice Growing Areas of Kashmir

Four commercial rice growing districts of Kashmir valley viz.,Bandipora, Kulgam, Anantnag and Pulwama were surveyed for incidence and intensity of leaf and neck blast of rice. The survey was carried out at tillering and around flowering stages. The highest leaf and neck blast incidence of 80.67 and 19.36 per cent was observed in Anantnag, whereas it was the lowest (18.33 and 1.03 per cent) in Kakapora in district Pulwama. The leaf blast intensity ranged from 10.82 per cent in district Bandipora to 29.59 per cent in district Kulgam. The highest neck blast intensity (4.83%) was recorded at Duroo Shahabad, whereas the lowest (0.77%) was observed at Ajus in district Bandipora. The rice blast showed the highest occurrence in south Kashmir as it is the hot spot for the disease having the ideal predisposing conditions for the disease..