Rice sheath blight: Reappraising the host-pathogen interplay and breeding strategies in the Omics Era

Abstract

Rice sheath blight is caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn. The characteristic symptoms include root, crown, hypocotyl, pod and belly-rot, sheath- and leaf-blight, banded leaf, brown patch and canker. Chemical management of this disease is largely unsustainable and non-viable thus underpinning the importance of resistant varieties. Although many QTLs governing tolerance to rice sheath blight have been mapped but robust, easy-to-use QTL without linkage drag is lacking. The present-day omics-based understanding of mechanisms, identification of novel donors, and development of varieties offer great scope. The present article summarizes the understanding of sheath blight disease development in rice and its possible management through tolerant varieties.