Udbatta disease: Ephelis oryzae Syd.

Deuteromycotina: Sphaeropsidales:Excipulaceae

Kannada Name         : Udubatti Roga

Vernacular Name      : Agarbatti, Mathapukaddi roga, Kari kaddi roga, Chipsu hode roga

            This disease is endemic and of minor importance in certain areas in India.

Period of occurrence : Panicle emergence stage

Collateral hosts: Grasses, Isachne, elegans, Cynadon dactylon, Pennisetum sp. and Eragrostis tenuifolia.

Symptoms:

• The panicle emerges from the leaf sheath, as a straight, dirty coloured, hard, cylindrical spike, considerably reduced in size, much resembling an agarbatti or udbatta.
• No grains are formed on the affected ear, instead white mycelium and conidia form narrow stripes on the flag leaf along the veins before the panicle emerge.

Preventive measures:

• Use of disease free seeds for sowing
• Hot water treatment of seeds at 52°C for 10 min.
• Removal and destruction of diseased panicles in field