Symptoms and signs of banded leaf and sheath blight of maize

Abstract

Apart from the development of lesions with characteristic bands on leaves and sheaths, some rarely observed symptoms and signs of the disease incited byRhizoctonia solani Kühn f. sp.sasakii Exner in maize (Zea mays) were recorded. The occurrence of stalk lesions (rind spotting), stalk breakage, clumping and caking of styles (silk fibers), horseshoe-shaped lesions with banding on caryopses; and sclerotial formation on styles, glumes, cupules and caryopses, are described for the first time. The blemishes on the caryopses are sufficient for diagnosis of the disease, as kernel rots incited by other fungi do not produce such disfiguration.