Thirteenth to Fourteenth week practices in rice crop

Monitoring of field-

Monitor the growth of your crop often. Walk through your field in a random manner or zigzag and check for signs of diseases, pests and deficiencies. Deficiencies are characterized by the discoloration of leaves and poor vigor of the plants. Diseases are often visible as discoloration and spots or streaks on leaves. Finally, remember that most of the insects present in the field are beneficial for your crop. Those that attack your crop will leave behind damage on leaves and buds in the form of holes.

False Smut: Ustilaginoidea virens

Symptoms-

• Only few grains in a panicle are usually infected and the rest are normal
• Individual rice grain transformed into a mass of yellow fruiting bodies
• Growth of velvety spores that enclose floral parts
• Immature spores slightly flattened, smooth, yellow, and covered by a membrane
• Growth of spores result to broken membrane
• Mature spores orange and turn yellowish green or greenish black

Management-

• Two sprayings of Propiconazole 25 EC @ 500ml/ha (or) Copper hydroxide 77 WP @ 1.25 kg/ha at boot leaf and 50% flowering stages.