Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2009
Blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae Cav., one of the major foliar diseases of rice, appears sometimes in a devastating form in the seedling stage. The angles subtended by leaves may affect the establishment of the pathogen. Ono (1965) observed that leaf angles of rice plants, among many other factors, influenced deposition of spores. Gangopadhyay & Chattopadhyay (1974) found that brown spot disease (Helminthosporium oryzae) incidence in rice increased with increase in leaf angles. The present study is intended to find out the role of leaf angles in rice on the incidence of blast disease at the seedling stage.