Reaction to diseases by four rice varieties in two agro-ecological location in Morobe Province.

Abstract

Four rice varieties were evaluated for their reaction to diseases in two agro-ecological locations in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. Brown spot, sheath rot, bacterial leaf blight, narrow brown leaf spot, sheath blotch and grain spot diseases were of common occurrence. Two of those, sheath blotch caused by Pyrenochaeta oryzae and bacterial leaf blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae are recorded for the first time in PNG. There were significant differences among the varieties with respect to bacterial blight and brown spot severity. Disease severity was significantly higher (pz 0.05) in the second year of trials in both the locations. The epidemiological aspects of these diseases, their implications on yield and management strategies are also discussed.