Studies on the wound infection of the rice plant by Piricularia Oryzac

Abstract

The rice plants of several varieties had been subjected to various treatments to make wounds on the leaves. These plants were then atomized with suspension of the conidia of Piricularia oryzae, developed on steamed straw. The counts of the number of diseaed patches on the leaves were made. The results may be summarized as follows;
The leaves injured by having been filed their surfaces, or bent at the base of the leaf blades, or cut of the midribs, produced invariably more numerous patches than the untreated leaves. Under condifions of poor nutrition, the injured leaves showed relatively a large number of patches, although the intact leaves produced none or very few. The plants which were shaken violently before inoculation, were affected heavily than the untreated plants.
From the results obtained, it may be considered that the cuticular layer of the leaf plays possibly an important rôle in presenting resistance of rice plants to the blast disease.