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<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

[1] Foot rot - Punjab
[2] False smut

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[1] Foot rot - Punjab
Date: Sat 20 Sep 2008
Source: Punjab Newsline Network [edited] <http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/12501/38/>

Heavy rain plays havoc with standing crops

There could be heavy rains with thundershowers in most parts of Punjab and Haryana in the next 48 hours [21-22 Sep 2008], according to the Met forecast. Punjab Agriculture officials said that if rain continued, it would be disastrous for standing crops. It is rare that rains lash in the month of September.

There are also reports of the paddy [rice] crop having developed plant diseases. After bacterial blight [see recent ProMED-mail post 20080923.3002], a disease that dries up a plant's leaves, foot rot disease has been reported in parts of Punjab in paddy, and the problem could worsen if water is not quickly drained, farmers and agricultural scientists said. Punjab state yields 11 percent of India's paddy.

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[2] False smut
Date: Thu 25 Sep 2008
Source: The Hindu [edited]
<http://www.hindu.com/seta/2008/09/25/stories/2008092551571500.htm>

False smut of rice, once considered a minor disease, has now become a serious disease in Tamil Nadu and other rice growing states of India. For the past 3 years, the disease has been reported in many places in an alarming proportion.

The disease is caused by a fungus and also known as Lakshmi disease of rice. Yield loss is not only due to the occurrence of the smut balls but also due to increased sterility of kernels adjacent to the smut balls.

[Byline: A Karthikeyan, S Jebaraj]

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[For rice, there are 2 diseases named foot rot: a bacterial disease caused by _Erwinia chrysanthemi_ (different biovars are being renamed as _Dickeya_ spp.), and the fungal bakanae disease caused by _Gibberella fujikuroi_, which is also called foot rot in India and Pakistan. Both have been reported to cause significant crop damage, and either could be the disease referred to in item [1].

False smut of rice is caused by the fungus _Ustilaginoidea virens_.
The disease can reduce yield by up to 75 percent, and affects grain quality and seed germination rate. Large orange to brown-green fruiting structures on one or more grains of the mature panicle develop. Surface spores spread the disease to immature panicles, and disease development is favoured by high humidity. The "smut balls"
survive between crops in the soil. Disease management includes phytosanitation, cultural methods, fungicides, and use of resistant cultivars, which are available in India. The mycotoxin ustilotoxin is produced by the pathogen and may be of concern in rice products.

Maps of India:
<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/images/IndiaMap_tourism.gif>
and
<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=22.9,79.6,5>

Pictures
Bakanae symptoms and fungal spores:
<http://plantpro.doae.go.th/diseasegroup/rice/bakanae/bakanae.jpg>
False smut of rice:
<http://agriqua.doae.go.th/plantclinic/clinic/plant/rice/image/pic_false_smut.jpg>
and
<http://www.ricefarming.com/home/Images/PestMgtGuide_Images/diseases/False%20Smut.jpg>

Links
Information on _E. chrysanthemi_ biovars:
<http://www.scri.ac.uk/scri/file/PiP/Erwinia.pdf>
Genus _Erwinia_ taxonomy and species list:
<http://www.bacterio.cict.fr/e/erwinia.html>
Bakanae disease fact sheet (with pictures):
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/RiceDoctor/Fact_Sheets/Diseases/Bakanae.htm>
_G. fujikuroi_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=265414>
False smut fact sheet (with pictures):
<http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/riceDoctor/Fact_Sheets/Diseases/False_Smut.htm>
_U. virens_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=123571>
- Mod.DHA]

[see also in the archive:
Bacterial leaf blight, rice - India: (PB) 20080923.3002 2000
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False smut of rice - USA (Louisiana) 20000620.1006]