MONITORING AND DETECTION OF WHEAT BLAST DISEASE CAUSED BY MAGNAPORTHE ORYZAE TRITICUM PATHOTYPE IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The wheat blast caused by the Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum pathotype has become a serious threat to wheat production in Pakistan and India after its severe outbreak in Bangladesh in 2016 and intermittent occurrence since then. Thus, planned systemic surveillance of wheat crops in two phases in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 began to determine the status of wheat blasts in Punjab, Pakistan. In the first phase, a survey of 160 wheat fields in districts in Punjab ensued for typical blast symptoms. The surveillance‟s second phase occurred after the threshing of the wheat crop, with composite grain samples collected from all over Punjab, then analyzed in the lab. The surveillance results indicated that all the wheat fields were free from the typical blast symptoms. Similarly, none of the analyzed samples showed the presence of wheat blast pathogens. Therefore, the study validates that this dreadful disease (blast) does not exist in Punjab, Pakistan. Hence, the reason to remain calm needs dissemination among the farming community and the training of technical agriculture extension staff for vigilance in the future for monitoring this disease in different agro-ecological zones of Punjab.