Reduced seedling growth on rice caused by Pythium arrhenomanes after direct sowing of iron-coated seeds.

Abstract

Direct sowing of iron-coated rice seeds into flooded paddy fields has been widely applied to save on labor and cultivation costs; however, seedlings grown from iron-coated rice seeds often develop seedling rot in the field. We identified Pythium arrhenomanes as one of the causal agents of the disease based on fungal morphology and a DNA sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer region on ribosomal DNA. This study is the first report of Pythium arrhenomanes causing a rot on rice seedlings from directly sown iron-coated seeds.