The effect of sheath blight on some yield components in irrigated rice (Oryza sativa) was estimated utilizing single tillers as experimental units. Artificial epidemics were induced by inoculating field with the inoculum of Rhizoctonia solani previously multiplied on the rice grain and hull medium. The disease severity was assessed on seven somaclones of Metica-1 in addition to the parent cultivar Metica-1, considering lesion height of 50 tillers as a measure. The relationship between panicle length and sheath blight severity was linear and negative both for early precoces (r = -0.65 P<0.01 ) and medium maturing (r =-0.62 P<0.01) ones. The disease affected panicle length by 8.83% and 6.26%, and empty spikelets by 10.94% and 12.20% in early and medium maturing genotypes, respectively. The estimated mean damage in grain weight/panicle was greater than on the empty spikelets and panicle length of genotypes tested, being 32.75% for early maturing and 30.99% for late maturing ones. The single tillers method can be used to obtain precise estimates of the potential losses caused by sheath blight in different genotypes.
Oryza sativa; epidemiology
