Imsil-gun Promotes Preemptive Management Methods for Rice Blast Disease Including Seed Disinfection

[Imsil=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Nosik] Imsil County in Jeonbuk has recently seen an increase in rice blast disease occurrences due to sudden weather changes. In response, the county has started promoting preventive management methods for rice blast, including seed disinfection, timing of box treatment application, and weed control.

According to the county on the 7th, rice blast is the most fatal disease for rice and is a fungal disease that occurs throughout the entire growth period.

It affects almost all parts, including leaf blast, neck blast, node blast, and panicle blast. When rice blast occurs on the panicle neck and panicle after heading, the yield and quality decline, causing significant damage.

Especially, fields where neck blast and panicle blast occurred last year have overwintered with a high density of rice blast pathogens. Therefore, farmers must pay close attention to pest and disease prevention and control from seed disinfection to the late cultivation stage.

Rice blast can also infect seeds, so thorough hot water and chemical disinfection are necessary.

Hot water disinfection involves soaking seeds in 60℃ water for 10 minutes, while chemical disinfection involves soaking seeds in a seed disinfectant registered for rice blast diluted in 30℃ water for 48 hours.

Caution is also needed when using box treatment agents.

Farmers often apply chemicals simultaneously with seed sowing to save effort and time during the farming season, but this method shortens the duration of chemical effectiveness in the field.

Therefore, it is recommended to avoid applying chemicals at the time of sowing and instead apply them the day before transplanting to extend the chemical's effective period in the field, which is advantageous for managing rice blast.

The field can reduce the density of rice blast pathogens through two farming operations.

For fields where rice was harvested early and regrowth occurred from stubble, or where rice straw infected with rice blast was cut and incorporated without tillage, plowing should be done when frozen soil begins to thaw, followed by flooding for more than three weeks to reduce the density of rice blast pathogens.

Also, early spring removal of weeds around the paddy fields, which serve as overwintering sites for rice blast pathogens, helps reduce pathogen density.

A county official stated, "Unlike pests, plant diseases caused by fungi or bacteria are not effectively controlled after outbreak, so preventive control is most important," adding, "We will strive to ensure thorough preventive control through precise monitoring and farmer education so that no farmers suffer losses due to rice blast."

Imsil=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Nosik sd2481@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.