Research Article
Bedanand Chaudhary, Sundar Man
Abstract
An experiment was conducted to study the effect of submergence on leaf blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, at the seedling stage in two Sub1 and two non-Sub1 rice genotypes during 2012 and 2013 at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Tarahara, Nepal. A split-plot design was followed using submergence periods as main-plots and genotypes as sub-plots. Four submergence periods during 2012 and five periods in 2013 were employed. Submergence periods varied significantly for leaf blast as measured by area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) during 2013. Seven days submerged plants produced the lowest AUDPC values. Rice genotypes differed significantly for AUDPC values during both the years. Disease development decreased with increasing submergence periods, with a greater reduction in Sub1 genotypes. With or without submergence, Swarna Sub1 recorded the lowest disease severity and could be promoted in the flash floods affected and other rainfed areas in Nepal terai where blast is a problem.