ROGER Y.

IBAÑEZ, JR

EXERCISE QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP OUTPUT

Module 8B

Exercise A: Identification rice diseases

Explain how you will distinguish the following diseases or insect pest injuries based on symptoms:
1. Bacterial leaf streak and narrow brown spot
BACTERIAL LEAF STREAK NARROW BROWN SPOT
CAUSAL AGENT
Bacteria Fungus
Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola Sphaerulina oryzina (syn. Cercospora
janseana, Cercospora oryzae)
DESCRIPTION
Infected plants show browning and drying of It leads to premature death of leaves and leaf
leaves. Under severe conditions, this could lead sheaths, premature ripening of grains, and in
to reduced grain weight due to loss of severe cases, lodging of plants.
photosynthetic area.
OCCURRENCE
▪ Bacterial leaf streak occurs in areas with ❖ The disease usually occurs in potassium
high temperature and high humidity. deficient soils, and in areas with
▪ It is transmitted through seeds and infected temperature ranging from 25−28°C.
stubbles to the next planting season. It can ❖ It appears during the late growth stages of
occur in fields where X. oryzae pv. oryzicola the rice crop, starting at heading stage.
bacteria is present on leaves, in the water, ❖ Plants are most susceptible during panicle
or in the debris left after harvest. initiation onwards, and damage becomes
▪ It can affect the plant during early stages, more severe as plants approach maturity.
from maximum tillering to panicle initiation.
Mature rice plants can easily recover from
leaf streak and have minimal grain yield
losses.

SYMPTOMS
▪ Symptoms initially appear as small, water- ❖ Typical lesions on leaves and upper leaf
soaked, linear lesions between leaf veins. sheath are light to dark brown, linear, and
These streaks are initially dark green and progress parallel to the vein. They are
later become light brown to yellowish gray. usually 2−10 mm long and 1−1.5 mm wide.
▪ The lesions are translucent when held ❖ Lesions on the leaves of highly susceptible
against the light. varieties may enlarge and connect
▪ Entire leaves may become brown and die together, forming brown linear necrotic
when the disease is very severe. regions.
▪ Under humid conditions, yellow droplets of ❖ On glumes, lesions are usually shorter but
bacterial ooze, which contain masses of can be wider than those on the leaves.
bacterial cells, may be observed on the Brown lesions are also found on pedicels.
surface of leaves.
 ❖ The disease also causes discoloration on
the leaf sheath, referred to as “net blotch”
because of the netlike pattern of brown
and light brown to yellow areas.

2. Sheath blight and sheath rot

SHEATH BLIGHT SHEATH ROT
CAUSAL AGENT
Fungus Fungus
Rhizoctonia solani Sarocladium oryzae
DESCRIPTION
Infected leaves senesce or dry out and die more The disease reduces grain yield by retarding or
rapidly, young tillers can also be destroyed. aborting panicle emergence, and producing
unfilled seeds and sterile panicles. Sheath rot
As a result, the leaf area of the canopy can also reduces grain quality by causing panicles
significantly be reduced by the disease. This to rot and grains to become discolored.
reduction in leaf area, along with the diseased-
induced senescence of leaves and young
infected tillers are the primary causes of yield
reduction.
OCCURRENCE
▪ Sheath blight occurs in areas with high ❖ Sheath rot is present in most of the rice
temperature (28−32°C), high levels of growing countries worldwide, particularly
nitrogen fertilizer, and relative humidity of in rainfed rice ecosystems and is more
crop canopy from 85−100%. prevalent during wet than dry seasons.
▪ Plants are more vulnerable to sheath blight ❖ Its incidence increases with increasing
during the rainy season. planting density and in plants that provide
▪ High seeding rate or close plant spacing, entry points for the fungus, in the form of
dense canopy, disease in the soil, sclerotia injuries and wounds caused by insects
or infection bodies floating on the water, and such as stem borers at panicle initiation
growing of high yielding improved varieties stage. The fungus tends to cause rotting of
also favor disease development. the uppermost leaf sheaths enclosing
young panicles, which retards or aborts
their emergence.
❖ It can also occur in areas with high
amounts of nitrogen fertilizer application
and high relative humidity and
temperatures (20−28°C) at heading to
mature crop stages.
SYMPTOMS
▪ oval or ellipsoidal greenish gray lesions, ❖ lesions developing on the uppermost leaf
usually 1-3 cm long, on the leaf sheath, sheaths that enclose the panicles,
initially just above the soil or water level in ❖ partially emerged or un-emerged panicles,
the case of conventionally flooded rice. ❖ rotting of the sheath,
▪ under favorable conditions, these initial ❖ development of whitish powdery fungal
lesions multiply and expand to the upper part growth on infected leaf sheaths,
 of the sheaths, the leaves, and then spread ❖ unexerted panicles.
to neighboring tillers belonging to different
hills (transplanted rice) or plants (direct-
seeded rice).
▪ lesions on the leaves usually have irregular
lesions, often with gray-white centers and
brown margins as they grow older.
▪ in subtropical environments, the disease is
mostly initiated by sclerotia (up to two million
of which can be produced per square meter
in a diseased crop).

3. Neck blast and whitehead

NECK BLAST SHEATH ROT
CAUSAL AGENT
Fungus Stemborer
Magnaporthe oryzae
DESCRIPTION
It can affect all above ground parts of a rice plant: A symptom caused by stem borers: the base of the
leaf, collar, node, neck, parts of panicle, and panicle is damaged preventing it from emerging or,
sometimes leaf sheath. Node and neck blast if already emerged, the grain is unfilled and white.
commonly occur together and have similar
symptoms. When a node or neck blast infection is
present, it can cause plants to develop few or no
grains at all.
OCCURRENCE
▪ Blast can occur wherever blast spores are ❖ Larvae, pupae or fecal matter are usually
present. observed at the base of a pulled tiller with
▪ It occurs in areas with low soil moisture, frequent whitehead.
and prolonged periods of rain shower, and cool
temperature in the daytime. In upland rice, large
day-night temperature differences that cause
dew formation on leaves and overall cooler
temperatures favor the development of the
disease.
▪ Rice can have blast in all growth stages.
However, leaf blast incidence tends to lessen as
plants mature and develop adult plant resistance
to the disease.
SYMPTOMS
▪ Node infection occurs in banded pattern. ❖ Symptoms of whiteheads are similar to those
▪ Lesions on the node are blackish to grayish of neck blast. Both injuries result in empty and
brown. white spikelets.
▪ Infected nodes can cause the culm or the part of ❖ the stem of a tiller with whitehead can be
the plant that holds the panicle to break. pulled from the base.
▪ Lesions on the neck are grayish brown and can
cause girdling, making the neck and the panicle
fall over.
 ▪ If infection of the neck occurs before milky stage,
no grain is formed, but if infection occurs later,
poor quality grains are formed.

Exercise B: Planting synchrony

Farmers in Brgy. San Juan are able to practice synchronous planting (defined fallow period of a least 1.5
months) because of good irrigation system and availability of machinery. On the other hand, farmers in
Brgy. San Pedro cannot practice synchronous planting due to various socio-economic constraints. Farmers
in both villages prefer to grow a variety with good eating quality but susceptible to tungro.
1. Based on what you learned, explain which of these two barangays has higher severity of tungro.
Please justify your answer.
Answer:
Synchronized planting complements to each measure as effective means of reducing Rice Tungro
Virus Disease (RTVD) incidence since, staggered planting is the major factors in promoting the
prevalence of RTVD. Based on the scenario the most possible area to experience high RTVD is in
barangay San Pedro due to its socio- economic constraints they are experiencing over farmers in
barangay San Juan. The following best practices can be considered to lessen the incidence of RTVD,
they are as follows; namely:
1. Planting insect repellant plant on dikes.
2. Planting of tungro resistant rice varieties
3. Synchronous planting
4. Adjusting planting time
5. Plowing immediate stubbles after harvest to reduce source of inoculum and destroy the eggs
of green leafhoppers
6. Focus application at vegetative stage of rice crop. Then, apply on affected fields where vector
is abundant
7. Regular monitoring of all growth stages and immediately remove the infected plant as well as
the plants with close contact with the infected one.

2. What advice will you give to farmers in Brgy. San Pedro if they still want to grow a susceptible
variety?
Answer:
If the farmers insisted that they will continue to use the susceptible variety in farming I will advise
them to stop their farming in a sense that all their money and efforts will be wasted because they cannot
achieve their target yield and little or no grains will be harvested due to insect-pest and diseases
infestations. Again, I will inculcate to their mind the benefits of using resistant varieties over the
susceptible varieties through field experiment using the small portions of their farm for them to believe
adopt because farmers will change their practices if they actually see and experience it.

Exercise C: Management of rice diseases

During the rainy season of 2019, a plant pathologist recorded the nutrient management of Mang Simon and
Mang Paolo as shown in the table below. Both farmers grew NSIC Rc216, their fields were adjacent to
each other and transplanted on the same day. Which field do you think had higher severity of leaf blast and
sheath blight? If you were the plant pathologist, what advice will you give?
 Name of
Nitrogen application Potassium application
farmer

Timing (days
Rate (kg per Timing (days after Rate (kg per
after
hectare) transplanting) hectare)
transplanting)

Mang Simon 60 3 0 -

50 35 0 -

Mang Paolo 30 3 10 3

30 40 10 40

40 60 0 60

Answer:
The NSIC Rc 216 is good performing variety and become popular to farmer in the Philippines. This
variety can attain average yield of 6t/ha if transplanted thus, a maximum yield of 9.70t/ha. Matures in 112
days with 96 cm height, has intermediate reaction to bacterial leaf blight. But, susceptible to blast and tungro
then, moderately resistant to brown planthopper and green leafhopper and moderate texture when cook.
Further, if direct seeded this variety can attain 5.7 t/ha and with a maximum yield of 9.3, matures in 104 days.
Mang Simon and Mang Paolo are using the same fertilizers N and P for crop growth and to attain
maximum yield. However, Mang Paolo can experienced more leaf blast and Sheath blight incidence in the
area due to its high N application about 203 kgs compared to Mang Simon of 148 kgs only.
Therefore, site –specific nutrient management strategy can provide optimal supply of essential
nutrients to rice crop. Farmers, can manage to specific condition in their field. In order to ensure optimum
rice, yield it is highly recommended for the farmers to have soil analysis, request assistance from AEWs for
using the crop manager, the use of MOET + LCC hence can provide high production, gross income and net
income.