Sheath Blight and Its Management in Rice

Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA, is the most economically important disease in Texas and other southern rice-producing states. The disease is widespread and occurs every year. The disease was first reported in Japan in 1910, and was soon well established in many Asian countries (Lee and Rush, 1983). The pathogen is capable of infecting rice, soybeans, grass weeds, and hundreds of other plant species (Rush and Lee, 1992). The pathogen can survive and adopt to diverse environments worldwide. Thus, the disease occurs throughout rice production areas of the world, and has become one of the major biological constraints to rice production, the primary staple food for almost half of the world population.