LOKESH YADAV, ASHWANI KUMAR*, NARESH KUMAR YADAV, RAKESH PUNIA AND POONAM YADAV
Department of Plant Pathology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125004 (Haryana), India
Department of Plant Pathology, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology,
Udaipur-313001, (Rajasthan), India
*(e-mail : dahiya.ashwani@gmail.com)
(Received : 28 December 2022; Accepted : 29 March 2023)
SUMMARY
Maize (Zea mays L.) is important forage and cereal crop in world and occupies third position in India after rice and wheat (Kale and Takawale, 2019). It has extensive versatility and grown under different climatic conditions. It is a C4 crop and possessing highest yielding potential. Banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) incited by Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii is highly responsible and serious impediment for quality fodder and grain production in maize. This pathogen has a very wide host range and affects the quality production of various crops including sorghum, rice, maize, pearl millet, finger millet, and sugarcane. The losses caused by this disease vary from 10 to 100 per cent in different maize cultivars. All plant parts are affected by this disease, starting from the foliage near ground level. Many attempts have been made to establish correlation between environmental conditions and epiphytotics of BLSB disease to manage it efficiently. Chemical fungicides are effective means to manage this disease but these chemical substances pose serious threats to living beings. For effective management of BLSB
there is a requirement of combined management practices. The studies on the history, economic impacts, distribution, symptoms and different management aspects of this pathogen covering these perspectives are discussed here under.
Key words: Banded leaf and sheath blight, disease management, maize, yield