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Symptoms and signs of banded leaf and sheath blight of maize

Article  in  Phytoparasitica · January 1982

DOI: 10.1007/BF02981891

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Subhash Chander Ahuja Mukesh Payak

CCS Haryana Agricultural University Vivekananda global university Jaipur
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 S.C. Ahuja and M.M. Payak (t982) phytoparasitica l0(l):41_49.

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF BANDED LEAF AND SHEATH BLIGHT OF MAIZE

S.C. AIIUJA* and M.M. pAyAK**

Apart front the development of lesions with characteristic bands on leaves

and
sheaths, somerarely observed svmptoms and signs of the disease incited by Rhizoc-
tonia solani Ktihn f. sp. sosakii Exner in maize (Zea mays) vere recorded. The
occurrence of stalk lesions (rind spotting), stalk breakage, clumping
and caking of
styles (silk fibers), horsesrroe-shaped Icsions rvirrr banriing ,in Iaryopses;
,nd
sclerotial formation on styles, glumes, cupules and caryopses, ure desciibea
for the
rrst time. The blemishes on the caryopses are sufficient for diagnosis of the
disease, as kernel rots incited by other fungi do not produce
such disiguration.
KEY woRDS. Maize lz-ea ntavs): banded lear and sheath bright;"Rhizoctonia
so/ani; symptoms and signs.

INTRODUCTION

Thanatephorus sasakii (Shirai) Tu & Kimbrough (St. lmp.: Rhizoctonia

solani
Ktihn f. sp. sosakii Exner) has a wide host range among both monocotyledonsand
dicotyledons, causing what has been variously called scleroiial disease,
banded sclerotial
disease, banded sheath rot, sheath spot, sheath blight, sharp eye
spot, oriental leaf,
-inciied
sheath blight, etc. Among the graminaceous hosts, the disease
in rice by the
pathogen has received a good deal of attention, especially in Japan (6).
Howevei, the
disease that occurs in corn has been but little investigated. although
recorded in the
early 1960s in Indi,, :r was considered of minor importance (7). tir the early
,l 1970s,
however, an epidernic occurred in the warm, humid foothill'regions
of the State of
Hirnae:hal Pradesh, particularly in the jr,,rrict of Mandi (10). Th;disease
;t is now wide-
't spread, and considered to be severe in Ilimachal Pradesh, the Tarai region
ci of Uttar
t Pradesh, and in areas across the length of the ltimalayas at altitudes
of I100 to 1500
meters (8).

Received Nov. 24, I 980; received in final form Dec. 30, I 9gl .
*fuce Research Station, Kaul (Kurukshetra
132021), India.
**Div' of Mycology and Plant Pathology,
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 1 l00l 2,
lndia.

Phytoparasitica I 0: I, I 982
4t
 A detailed study of the problem was instituted, and some of the results have
already been published (l ,2,3,4). The present paper documents expression of the
disease (both symptoms and signs) on the aerial parts of the maize plant as recorded
under conditions of artificial field inoculation and also on naturally infected plants.

MATEzuAI-S AND METHODS

Observations were made on naturally infected plants as well as on artificially

inoculated plants in fields at Solan, Sundernagar, Karnal (Haryana) and Delhi during
the 1974 and 1975 crop seasons. The maximum and minimum temperatures prevailing
during the maize growing seascn at these locations, and some soil data, are given in
Table 1.

. TABLE 1

MAXI\{UM AND MINIMUM TEYPERATURES CC) DURING MAIZE GROWING

SEASON AND SOIL DATA OF TEST LOCATIONS

Solan Sundernogar Delhi Karrul

Max. Min. Max. Min. Max. Min. Max. Min.

July 21.7 19.2 28.3 26.t 33.0 25.6 33.6 25.6

August 30.2 26.1 26.0 25.0 34.0 25.4 7)1 ,)( r

September 23.1 18.0 23.8 20.0 34.7 23.0 34.1 7.2.'1

October 20.4 14.9 15.6 t't.2 34.2 18.1 3 1.5 t5.2

Novembcr 21.4 6.1 15.0 10.0 28.4 10.9 27.3 8.6

Soil Sandy loam Sandy loam Alluvial siit Clay

texture

Soil pH 6.8 6.5 7.5 - 8.s 8.1

The technique of mass multipiication of inoculum consisteC of using autoclaved

unhulled whole barley grains as a substrate for growth of the pathogen in 500-ml Er-
lenmeyer flasks. Trials with other types of inocula, such as suspensions of myceliai
fragments in sterile water, fungus growth on agar base, mycelial growth with sclerotia,
and sclerotiaper se, werc not so successful (2).
The sites for artificial infection were the whorls, streaths and brace roots. High
disease intensity developed only when whole barley or oat grains with pathogen
growth were inserted between the rind of the stalk and the enclosing streath at the
second or third basal node; optimum disease development occurred when four barley

42 Phytoparasitica I 0: I, I 982
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Plate 1. Symptoms of banded leaf and sheath blight of maize'
a. Round to elongated lesions with a dark margin, on the outer surface of leaf sheaths of a
Esistant cultivar.
b. Banded blight on leaf, advanced stage.
c. hematurely dead plant showing infection on all leaves.
d. Different degrees oflesion development on rind of stalks.

Phytoryrasitico I 0: 1, I 982
 subtended by the diseased sheaths ntay beconre chlorotic, followed by inward rolling
of laminae and loss of turgidity. These dry up prematurely and have a grayish-green
sheen.
A sort of wave-pattern of disease advancement can be discerned not only on
leaves but also on sheaths and husk leaves.
Sheaths: In general, the symptoms resemble those described for leaves. The
disease appears on basal leaf sheaths as water-soaked, straw-colored roundish spots on
both the surfaces. Its spread from the lower lo upper sheaths is rather rapid under
favorable conditions but in dry weatller it remains restricted. The pathogen appears
to have a predilection for reaching the ear shoot. In moderately severe to severe cases,
a continuity of lesions on all the sheaths up to the ear shoot has been noted.
on resistant maize material, such as the inbred lines cM 104 and cM 105, the
lesions are not only limited in size but are also more discrete and surrounded by tan-
colored margins (Plate la). on susceptible cultivars (e.g. inbred line cuba 257) they
cover the whole sheath and the banding may or may not be distinct.
Stalks: The pathogen also causes spots or lesions on the rind of the stalk under
the affected sheaths. Dark brown to black, sometimes off-white, superficial to de-
pressed lesions extend on the lower four or five internodes (Plate ld). These coalesce
laterally and end-to-end. Individual lesions range in size from 2-10 x 3-15 mm to
those which cover the whole internode. Sometimes these are transformed into cankers.
Disorganization of the rind tissues results in lengthwise shredding. Most of the lesions
develop lengthwise but a few girdle near the nodes. Under conditions of artificial ino-
culation the entire thickness of the rind is sometimes affected; the stalk thereby be-
comes weakened and breaks easily. At Delhi, 15% of the maize entries lodged as a re-
sult of field inoculation, and stalk breakage ranged from 3 to lWo.
The rind discoloration as a result of excessive spotting forms the basis for desig-
nating this disease as sharp eye spot in England (5). singh and Sharma (9) have taken
it into account for devising a rating scale for the disease. To the best of our knowledge
stalk breakage has not previously been recorded as being associated with the disease.
However, in a somewhat similar disease which affects leaves and sheaths, Brown Spot
(Physoderma maydis), its occurrence has been noted.
Ears: The source of infection of the ears is the lower adjacent affected sheaths;
in no case was ear rot observed in the absence of infection o[ the lower sheaths. The
disease reaches the ear shoot in favorable weather within l5-20 days of sheath infec-
tion.
The disease appears first on the basal part of the outermost husk leaves in con-
tact with the sheath through which the ear is emerging. Unlike the lesions on leaves
and sheaths, those on the husk leaves are diffuse but the bands are fairly prominent
(Plate 2c). The disease spreads to the innermost husk leaves and then to the whole ear,
right up to the tip. Plate 3b shows an infected and a healthy ear in longitudinal sec-
tion. A1l the husk leaves have turned necrotic because of severe infection. The shank
and the central vascular cylinder (cob proper) are not affected. The reduction in ear
length and girth is also quite marked. In an advanced stage of infection, husk leaves
also show shredding, followed by the development of sclerotia (plate 2a).

Phy toparasitica I 0: I. I 982 45

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Pltte 2. Symptoms and signs of banded leaf and sheath blight on eat of mqize.
a. Ears showing disease intensities ranging from complete mortality (left) to shreddhg and
sclerotial development on husks (right).
b. Close-up view of sclerotial masses on husk leaf.
c. Husk leaf spread out to show banded blight and shredding.

Phytoparasitica 1 0: 1, I 982
 Ear rot severity is dependent on the stage of ear development at the time of in-
fection. Three types of ear rot can be distinguished: (a) in case of infection occurring
prior to ear emergence, the development of the ear is completely suppressed or at best
remains rudimentary, with bleaching of entire husk leaves (plate 2c); (b) if the patho-
gen reaches the ear sltoot after ear emergence, the silk fibers at tlte tip darken, become
caked up, and turn into a hardened lump leading to poor filling (plate 2b);(c)if infec-
tion occurs after grain formation, the kernels become light in weight, chaffy and luster-
An overall reduction in kernel size occurs (Plate 3d), and cupule infec-
less (Plate 3a).
tion is also common. Kernels developing in suclt cupules show reclclish-brown, lorse-
shoe-sltaped lesions on the flattened side below the crown. Such disfiguration is useful
for diagnosis of the disease, and even at harvest time when plants as a whole, including
leaves and sheaths, have dried up, the presence or absence of the disease can be deter-
mined by scanning the kernels. In pathological tests on seeds, this character can also
be utilized.
In 2l 8 test entries of various kinds of maize germ plasm under conditions of ar-
tificial field inoculation, prematurely dead plants were recorded;in half of the entries
the range was 3-6Wo. Rotted ears were observed n 54% of the entries, with the inci-
dence ranging from 1 to 60%.
Stsrls
Two types of mycelia were observed on the host - the straight non-infectious,
cottony, runner-type of hyphae, and tlte multibranched lobate type of ilfectious
lryplrae. The former type may be present on the unaffected parts of amaize plant. The
latter type develops on aggregations of non-infectious hyphae on tissues which have
turned necrotic; they sometimes give rise to sclerotia which are initially whitish to
creamish, turning saltnon red later. The sclerotia appear as convex or orbicular bodies
in a frontal view but wrinkled and curled up types become common in dry weather.
The hyaline mycelium is especially prominent on the abaxial surface of sheaths
and husk leaves. A raised and spreadinS type of mycelium has been observed on botlr
surfaces ol the leaves and its greater concentration has been observed on unaffected
parts adjacent to the diseased ones. The disease is noteworthy in that infection ap-
pears some distance arvay from the main center of growth; because the infectious cush-
ions develop farther away. Mycelia as well as infectious cushions turn buff, accompa-
nied by the development of alternating bands and blotches.
The hyphal masses on ears produce a caking effect and cement the husk leaves as
well as styles (silk fibers) together. The mycelium develops above and between the
kernel rows. Irregularly shaped sclerotia, roundish or convex in a frontal view (curled
up inside), give a pustular appearance to the affected parts which have already turned
necrotic or prematurely dried up (Plate 2b). Sclerotia were found to be produced not
only on sheaths and husk leaves but were also observed, for the first time, on glumes,
in the cupules (Plate 3a), under the pericarp in caryopses (Plate 3c), and on caked silk
fibers. 'l'he basidial stuge was not observed eitlter under conditions of artificial inocula-
tion or in nature at the four locations. There are many records of development of the
perfect stage on rice (6), but more observations are required to detect its presence on
nraize inlected with this pathogen.

Phl,toparasitica I 0: l, I 982 47
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Plate 3: Additional symptoms of banded leaf and sheath blight of maize.
a. Part of an ear with some grains shelled to show sclerotia in cupules, and mycelial growth
on kernels.
b. Longitudinal section of diseased 0eft) and healthy (right) ears. In diseased ear, all parts
except the cob ate rotted, and there is pronounced reduction in ear size.
c. Sclerotium under pericarp near pedicel.
d. Diseased 0eft) and healthy (right) kernets, with pronounced reduction in size of diseased
kernels.

48 Phy toparaitico I 0: 1, I 982

 REFERENCES

1. Ahuja S.C. (1976) Banded leaf and sheath blight of maize. Ph.D. thesis, Postgraduate
School, Indian Agricultural Research Irtitute, New Delhi.
2. Aluja, S.C. and Payak, M.M. (1978) A heid inoculation technique for evaluating maize
. Cermpiasm to banded leaf and sheath blight. Indian Phytopath. 3l 517-520.
3. Ahuja, S.C. and Payak, M.M. (1981) Relationship of reiative humidity and temperature
levels with the deveiopment of leaf andsheathbiight ofmuze.Z.PfiKrdnkh.PflSchutz
88: 265-268.
4. A}luja, S.C. and Payak, M.M. (1981) A laboratory method for evaluating maizegermplasm
to banded leaf and sheath blight. Indizn Phytopath.34t 34-37.
5. Knight, B.C. and Burrei], W.D. (1964) Sharp e-ve spot of maize. Pl. Path. l3: 138.
6. Ou, S.H. (1972) fuce Diseases. Commonwea.lth Yycological Inst., Kew, Suney, England.
7. Payak. M.M. and Renfro, B.L. (1966) Diseases of maize new to India. Bull. Indian Ph1,to-
path. Soc.3: l4-18.
8. Rentio, B.L. and l,rllstrup, A.J. (1976) A comparison of maize diseases in temperate and
tropical environments. Pest. Abst. Nevs Summ. 22: 491-498.
L Singh. B.M. and Sharma, Y.R. (1976) Evaluation of maize germplasm to banded scierotial
disease and assessment ofloss. Indian Phytopath.2gz 129-132.
10. Thakur, M.S., Sharma, S.L. and Munjal, R.L (1973) Correlation studies between incidence
of banded sclerotial disease and ear yield in m aize. Indian l. Mv col. P!. Path.3: I 8G 1 81 .

Phytoparasitico I 0: 1, I 982 49

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