STUDIES ON SMUT DISEASE OF RICE IN EGYPT

Abstract

Rice is one of the most important cereal crops in Egypt. In season 2004, the area of rice crop reached 1,534,000 fed., produced about 6.5 million tons of paddy with an average of 4.155 t/fed (Anonymous, 2005). Rice crop is the host of different diseases. The fungal diseases are considered the major rice diseases. Three smut diseases attached the rice crop namely, kernel smut (Tilletia barclayaina), leaf smut (Entyloma oryzae) and false smut (Usti/aginoidea virens) (Ou, 1985). In Egypt, recently, false smut disease caused by Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke) Takahashi (Perfect stage Claviceps orizea- sativae Hashioka) was observed for the first time in 1997 season on the Giza 171 Cv. in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, and subsequently has been recorded in other Governorates on both early and late maturing rice cultivars. (Sehly, et a/., 2002). In Egypt, a few information is available about the false smut disease, so the present work aimed to study: 1- Isolation, purification and identification of Ustilaginoidea virens (Cooke). 2- Morphological, biological and physiological characters of the rice false smut fungus. 3- The survival of the ch.lamydospores and conidiospores of rice false smut fungus under different storage conditions. 4- Evaluation of different artificial inoculation techniques by orange chlamydospores of the fungus under field conditions. 5- Evaluation of different fm1gicides against the fwtgus Wlder lab conditions. 6- As well as evaluated some fungicides against the false smut disease under field conditions.