THE INCIDENCE OF PYRICULARIA ORYZAE CAV. ON NIGERIAN RICE (ORYZAE SATIVA L.)

Forty samples of rice seeds consisting of 25 different cultivars were screened for the incidence of Pyricularia oryzae by blotter method. The result showed that about 22.8% of the samples examined were infected, though occuring in low percentages. This low infection percentage not with standing, the significance of the blast fungus as a pathogen capable of attaining epidemic proportions ffrom inconspicuous seed-borne inoculums cannot be overlooked. It was therefore suggested that the non-use of seeds from infected samples should facililate the check of its spread especially from infected to uninfected virgin areas.