ABSTRACT
Sheath rot of rice, Sarocladium oryzae [(Sawada) W. Gams & D. Hawksw], is currently regarded as one of the most serious rice diseases in Fogera plains. Varietal resistance is the most cost-effective and eco-friendly management strategy for the small-scale farmers. An investigation was conducted to identify resistant sources among rice germplasm introductions that could be employed in varietal development program. Eighty germplasms along four checks were evaluated in field trials for two years at two locations arranged in an augmented design. Results indicated that three immune germplasms (SCRID014-1-1-1-1, SCRID037-4-2-2-5-2 and YUNLU N0.33) were found to be suitable for resistant variety development. The remaining, germplasms were found to exhibit different levels of reactions, of which 27 resistant, 35 moderately resistant, 13 moderately susceptible and two susceptible, with PSI
ranging between 1.48–56.17%. The immune germplasms perform better than the standard check varieties in all agronomic and phenological traits considered. Based on these results, the high yielder immune germplasms could
be used to develop resistant varieties so as to meet the farmers’ requirement, as far as rice production is concerned.
Keywords: Rice; Germplasm; Sheath rot; Screening; Immune; Resistant
