Some Soil Factors Influencing Incidence of Sheath Blight of Rice Caused by Rhizoctonia solani (Kiihn)

Pot culture experiments were conducted to study the effects of some soil factor on the incidence of sheath blight of rice caused by Rhizoetonia solani. The disease incidence was positively correlated with the sandiness of the soil. The studies also revealed that the disease significantly varied in soils collected from different locations of West Bengal, apparently due to differences in soil type. The disease incidence was maximum in wet soil with 50–60% water holding capcity (WHC) and it was very less in submerged soil with 100% WHC. With regard to the time of application of organic amendments to the soil, plant infection was very high when the amendment was applied immediately after sowing but significantly reduced as compared to the control, 20 days after application.