Pathogenicity of Pyricularia oryzae Setaria pathotype on wild foxtail plants

Blast pathogens of three Setaria plants（ foxtail millet, green foxtail and giant foxtail） are classified into Pyricularia oryzae Setaria pathotype based on their specific virulence to foxtail millet among differential Gramineae species. Pathogenicity of 44 P. oryzae isolates from the three Setaria plants were tested on five accessions of green foxtail and three accessions of giant foxtail. All of the isolates tested produced susceptible reactions on more than three accessions of green foxtail and more than one accession of giant foxtail, indicating that they were pathogenic to green and giant foxtails as well as to foxtail millet. In the present study, differential patterns of avirulence on accessions of green foxtail and giant foxtail were observed among the green foxtail isolates and among the giant foxtail isolates.