Stem Rot
(Sclerotium oryzae)

Symptoms
Initial symptoms are small, irregular black lesions on the outer leaf sheath near water level Lesions expand as the disease advances Infected stem rots Visible numerous tiny white and black sclerotia and mycelium inside the infected culms Infected culm lodges and caused unfilled panicles and chalky grain Severe infection causes tiller death The disease aggravates the plants to lodge
	Stem Rot	Stem Rot
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		Identification of pathogen
		The perithecia are dark, globose, and embedded in outer tissues of the sheath. The asci are narrowly clavate with almost invisible walls and deliquescing by the time the spores mature. The sclerotia are black and globose or near globose and smooth The conidiophores are dark, upright, and septate. Conidia are fusiform, three-septate, curved, and are produced on pointed sterigmata.
Sclerotium Oryzae	Sclerotium Oryzae
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Management Strategies
Burning straw and stubble or any crop residue after harvest or letting the straw decompose and draining the field can reduce sclerotia in the field. A balanced use of fertilizer or split application with high potash and lime to increase soil pH reduces stem rot infection and increases yield. Chemicals such as fentin hydroxide sprayed at the mid-tillering stage, thiophanate-methyl sprayed at the time of disease initiation can reduce stem rot incidence in the rice field. The use of other fungicides such as Ferimzone and validamycin A also effective against the fungus.
	Fentin Hydroxide	Lime Fertilizer
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