BIPINCHANDRA VAHUNIA, PUSHPENDRA SINGH, KRISHNA PARMAR, MITTAL PARMAR, KULDEEP PATEL AND PAYAL PATEL
Krushi Vigyan Kendra, Navsari Agricultural University, Waghai, Gujarat 394 730, India
Department of Plant Pathology, Navsari Agricultural University, Waghai, Gujarat 394 730, India
Department of Plant Pathology, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat 396 450, India
Department of Plant Pathology, Navsari Agricultural University, Bharuch, Gujarat 392 012, India
*(e-mail : bipinchandravahuniya@gmai.com)
(Received: 20 Februry 2026; Accepted: 23 March 2026)
SUMMARY
Leaf blight of sorghum caused by Exserohilum turcicum is an important disease affecting crop productivity. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the host range of the pathogen under controlled conditions. Five crop species were evaluated for their susceptibility through artificial inoculation. The results revealed that E. turcicum primarily infects members of the Poaceae family. Among the tested hosts, maize, Sorghum halepense and johnson grass exhibited susceptibility, showing typical leaf blight symptoms with variable latent periods. In contrast, wheat and oat remained symptomless and no pathogen could be re-isolated from inoculated tissues, confirming their non-host status. The findings indicate a restricted host range of E. turcicum, predominantly confined to certain grass species, which has important implications for disease management and crop rotation strategies.
Key words: Exserohilum turcicum, host range, latent periods, Sorghum bicolor, pathogen