A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW ON SHEATH BLIGHT DISEASE OF RICE AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Rice sheath blight disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn (teleomorph Thanatephorus cucumeris [Frank] Donk), is a serious threat in rice growing countries. R. solani is a soil borne necrotic fungus that survives in plant debris as sclerotia, and is able to infect plants belonging to more than 27 plant families including economic important monocots and dicots. Management of sheath blight requires an integrated strategy based on the population structure, correct identification of pathogen at early stage and molecular aspects of rice defence responses against R. solani. This review summarizes elaborative and updated knowledge on taxonomic classification of the pathogen, disease etiology and economics, molecular aspects of R. solani pathogenicity and strategies for detection and diagnosis of the disease. Up to date information for management of sheath blight using various strategies are discussed Specifically, the effects of popular cultural practices influencing sheath blight incidence, various chemical fungicides, biological control individually and their combined effect on sheath blight are presented. Summarized and updated information of various biotechnological approaches viz., genetic transformation, host-delivered RNAi technology, genome-editing tools and nanotechnological approaches to enhance resistance in rice against sheath blight is mentioned in this review.

Keywords

• sheath blight, r. solani, chemical control, biocontrol, rice transgenic, rnai