Field Survey on the Incidence of Rice Foot Rot in Odisha and its Management

Now a days bakanae disease is emerging as a serious problem of rice cultivation in Odisha. The incidence of foot rot in Odisha was more in 2014 kharif in comparison to 2013 among six paddy cultivars grown in different parts of the state. The disease was found with 100 per cent prevalence in all the areas surveyed viz., Bargarh (Western Central Table Land), Bhubaneswar (East & South Eastern Coastal Plain) and Koraput(Eastern Ghat High Land). The incidence was more in Bargarh which was 5.9 to 9.5 per cent in 2013 kharif and 11.5 to 21.0 per cent in 2014 kharif. In Bhubaneswar the per cent incidence of foot rot varied from 3.8 to 7.8 in 2013 where as it was 7.9 to 19.8 per cent in 2014. The least incidence of foot rot was found in Koraput in comparisons to other locations which ranged from 2.4 to 5.6 per cent in 2013 and 6.5 to 14.7 per cent in 2014. Seed treatment with Benomyl @1g + Thiram @ 2g/kg of seed along with seedling root dip with Benomyl 50% WP(0.1%) for six hours effectively reduced foot rot incidence (93.53%), optimized the plant height and tiller number and increased 27.45 per cent grain yield over non treated control. A net benefit of Rs.7076/ha could be earned over control by the above treatment.