Title

Blast

Keywords

blast, fungus, disease, fungal disease

Abstract

Rice blast is one of the most important diseases found in rice. It is caused by the fungus (Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr) and can affect  the leaf, culm, nodes and neck of the panicle. With blast, leaf lesions are distinctively grey in the center, exhibit dark borders and are diamond-shaped (large in the middle and tapering to ends). Leaf symptoms are similar to Bipolaris leaf spot (also known as brown spot). When blast attacks nodes on the stem, it can be confused with rat damage (although rats are associated with physical damage). Panicles affected by neck rot can be confused with stemborer damage (except with blast, the panicle is still connected to the stem).

Author

C Vera Cruz, N Castilla, T Mew and MA Bell

Date

April 2004