Name Early blight of Tomato
Causal Alternaria solani
organism
Symptoms Generally occur on oldest leaves
• Start as sca ered small irregular light brown to
black lesions
• Lesions enlarge to form a “concentric ring” like
spots further forming large, blighted area
 Mature lesions covered with black velvety
mass of fungal spores
• Defolia on of lower leaves may occur under
favourable condi ons
 Stem- ellip cal, sunken, dark concentric
lesions which weaken the plant
 collar rot
 A. solani invades the fruit at the point of
a achment to the stem and through cracks
and wounds made by insect
E ology  Mycelium- profusely branched, septate, dark
coloured that spread both inter and intra
cellularly.
 Conidiphores- septate, geniculate, light brown
in colour.
 Conidia- produced on conidiophores, either
singly or in chains, beaked, obclavete
(thickened at the distal end) muriform, brown
in colour
Late blight of tomato
Phytophthora infestans
 a rapidly expanding, grayish-brown blight of leaves,
pe oles and stems.
 Blighted areas on leaves may have irregular shapes.
 Blighted leaves turn yellow and may become curled and
deformed within days of becoming infected.
 A sign of the pathogen Phytophthora infestans can be
visible as powdery, whi sh rings around the margins of
the blighted areas.
 Elongated, blackened lesions appear on tomato branches
and stems. Stems, pe oles and leaves may collapse.
 Infected tomato fruits turn greasy, olivaceous-brown,
decay, and can shrivel up and fall off the plant and never
ripen
 On tomato leaves, pe oles, stems - Lesions begin as
indefinite, water-soaked spots that enlarge rapidly into
pale green to brownish-black lesions and can cover large
areas of the leaf.
 During wet weather, lesions on the abaxial surface of the
leaf may be covered with a gray to white moldy growth
 On the undersides of larger lesions, a ring of moldy
growth of the pathogen is o en visible during humid
weather.
 foliage turns yellow and then brown, curls, shrivels, and
dies.
 Effects on the plant include extensive defolia on, reduced
photosynthe c leaf area, loss of plant vigor, plant death,
loss of fruits and reproduc ve capacity, and loss of yield.
• It belongs to the oomycetes (order Peronosporales) not a
true fungi
 The mycelium is hyaline and coenocy c.
 The sporangiophores are compound and indeterminate,
with sympodial branching.
 Zoospores are biflagellate
• In cool, wet condi ons, zoospores will emerge from the
sporangia while in warmer condi ons, sporangia may
func on as a single spore
and germinate directly.
• A er swimming on the surface of the host plant surface,
zoospores encyst and then germinate and infect the plant.
Epidemiology Disease cycle
 spore germina on favoured by free water
 op mum Temp for spore germina on - 26- 30.
Best-27 oC when abundant moisture is present.
Control  Field sanita on, Remove infected Plant debris
 Crop rota on to a non solanaceous crops
 Remove wild Collateral Hosts
 Fungicides- Mancozeb, Zineb (Dithane Z-78),
Ziram, Difolatan, Captan, use of Bacillus sub llis
also found effec ve.
 Use resistant varie es such as Early cascade,
Floramerica, Jetstar, Surecrop etc.
 Stake up tomato plants, especially indeterminate types.
Keep tomato stems and branches away from the ground.
• Plant blight-resistant tomato varie es
Available Legend, Juliet Hybrid
• Intercrop tomato with non-suscep ble host plants,
preferably non-solanaceous plants.
• Prac ce good crop sanita on; remove diseased material
from the plot or garden
• Eliminate cull piles in the vicinity of tomato plan ngs.
 DISEASES OF RICE

N RICE BLAST BROWN SPOT OF RICE

A
M
E
C Magnaporthe oryzae Helminthosporium oryzae
A
U
S
A
L
s Elliptical or spindle-shaped leaf blast lesions with brown  Discolora on of stems
y margins and gray centers.  appearance of oval-shaped brown spots on the leaves
mLesions enlarge and coalesce leading to leaf death. with a grey colored center developed.
p Collar rot occurs at the junction of leaf blade and leaf  In severe infesta on---panicle- spots in the grain and
t sheath. loss of yield and milling quality.
o Node blast results in black-brown nodes that  : Ini al infec on manifests as small brown dots, evolving
m break easily into dis nct cylindrical or oval-circular lesions which
s Panicle blast - dark lesions on panicle coalescence leading to drying of leaves
neck node and flag leaf collar- seed failure or breakage  visible scorched areas
above the neck.  Black spots on seeds
 adversely affects seed germina on
 poor seedling vitality,
 compromised grain quality,
e Identity of the Pathogen  Pathogen exhibits Diverse Infec on Stages
t • Heterothallic, filamentous ascomycete  Host range-Oryza (Asian rice), Leersia(Cutgrass), Zizania
i family Magnaporthaceae. (Wild rice), and other species like Echinochloa colona ,
o Reproductive Characteristics Zea mays (maize).
l • Produces three-septate, spindle-shaped, hyaline
o ascospores
g  Conidia are three-celled, pyriform or
y obclavate, and 2-3 septate.
producing three-celled sexual stage known as Pyricularia
oryzae
Infection Cycle
Spore attachment facilitated by spore tip mucilage.
 Germination triggered by host signals, leading to
appressorium formation.
Appressorium formation involves cyclic adenosine
monophosphate (cAMP)
accumulation.
Penetration peg uses turgor pressure for cuticle and cell
wall penetration.
E Cycle Frequency
p Under favorable condi ons, one cycle per week possible.
i Single lesion can produce hundreds of spores each night for
d over 20 days.
e Environmental Influences
m  Lesion development favored by temperature (25 to 28
i 0C)
o  extended leaf dampness,
l  high rela ve humidity (92% to 96%)
o
 Survival in plant residue
g
y  Drought stress and excess nitrogen applica on increase
rice suscep bility.
 Variable response under dry condi ons
 Host Range of Magnaporthe oryzae
Rice (Oryza sa va) -principal host
more than 50 grass species and crops like finger millet,
pearl millet

c Cultural prac ces CULTURAL CONTROL

o  Destroy infested crop residue.
n  Opt for early seeding during the wet season.
t  Apply nitrogen in split doses.
r  Regulate soil moisture.
o Host Plant -
l  Gene pyramiding for broad-spectrum resistance
 Iden fica on of downstream signaling molecules.
Biological Control
 Pseudomonas strains 4-15,
 Bacillus strains 4-03
 Tricyclazole =225-300 g/Ha
Should be applied at 5% boo ng stage
Chemical Control
 Seed treatment-fungicides (isoprothiolane,
metominostrobin)
 Melanin biosynthesis inhibitors (carpropamid) and plant
defense ac vators (probenazole), Root-systemic
fungicides (Carpropamid) in combina on
 disease-free seeds to prevent ini al infec on.
 Prac ce field sanita on by removing collateral
hosts and infected debris.
 implement crop rota on with non- host crops in
disease-prone areas.
 Adjust plan ng me, prac ce proper fer liza on, and
manage water effec velv.
 Soil amendments like mustard oil cake and neem oil
cake
 cul va ng disease-tolerant varie es such as Bala,
Jaya, and Raina
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
 Apply biocontrol agents like Trichoderma viride
(4g/kg) or Pseudomonas fluorescens (10g/kg) during
seed treatment.
 Foliar Spraying: of T. viride and P. fluorescens
(5ml/litre) for added protec on
 Chemical:- seed treatment with iprodione,
propiconazole at 0.1% Foliar applica on of 0.1%
tricyclazole fungicide sprays.
 BACTERIAL BLIGHT
Causal pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae
symptoms  Bacterial blight syndrome exhibits three types of
symptoms: leaf blight (most dis nct), kresek (the
seedling blight or wilt phase) and the pale-yellow
leaf.
 Seedlings- circular, yellow spots in the margin, that
enlarge, coalesce leading to drying of symptom is
seen in seedlings, 1-2 weeks a er transplan ng.
 bacteria enter through the cut wounds in the leaf
ps, become systemic and death of en re seedling.
 In grown up plants water soaked, translucent
lesions appear near the leaf margin
 As the disease advances, the lesions cover the
en re lamina which turns white or straw coloured.
 Milky or opaque dew drops containing bacterial
masses are formed on young lesions in the early
morning. They dry up on the surface leaving a
white encrusta on.
 grains have discoloured spots.
e ology The bacterium is aerobic, gram nega ve, non spore
forming, monotrichous
Bacterial colonies are circular, convex with en re
margins, whi sh yellow to straw yellow colored and
opaque.
epidemiology Fav cond:-
Clipping of p of the seedling at the
me of transplan ng
Heavy rain, heavy dew, flooding, deep irriga on water
Severe wind and temperature of a5-30 0 c
applica on of excessive nitrogen, specially late top
dressing
SHEATH BLIGHT OF RICE
Rhizoctonia solani
 R. solani spreads rapidly through runner
hyphae to upper plant sec ons and
neighboring plants.
 Disease growth is faster during the early
phases of heading and grain filling.
 Symptoms include water-soaked lesions,
sclero a forma on, and lodging. poten ally
leading to plant death.
The ini al symptoms of sheath blight appear
as water-soaked lesions on the leaf sheath
near the water level line.
Pathogen Descrip on: soil-borne fungus
with both saprotrophic and
faculta ve plant parasite characteris cs.
It survives in soil and infects paddy plants,
leading to sheath blight disease symptoms.
can survive for up to two years under
unfavorable condi ons.
Spores spread during field prepara on by
flooding irriga on.
1) Res ng phase
2) A achment phase
3) Early necrotrophic phase
4) Late necrotrophic phase
5) Sclero a dropped in the field post
harvest
management plant resistant varie es.
Using balanced amounts of plant nutrients, especially
nitrogen,
ensuring good drainage of fields (in
conven onally flooded crops) and nurseries
keeping fields clean
Seed treatment with bleaching powder
use a reasonable level of fer lizer adapted
to the cropping season.
Proper density of crop establishment
drain rice fields rela vely early in the
cropping season to reduce sheath blight
epidemics
azoxystrobin @ 500mI/ha
Hexaconazole 75% WG @ 100mg/ lit
1st spray at the me of disease appearance
and 2nd spray 15 days later