Current Status of Bacterial Leaf Blight in Malaysian Rice Plants

Abstract

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) of rice is among the most devastating pathosystem of rice in nearly all the rice-growing localities in tropical and temperate regions. In Malaysia, the disease was initially detected in paddy fields of Peninsular Malaysia in 1967, with yield losses reaching 70%. Devastating BLB spread was in 2013 at Sekinchan, Selangor with 80% infection involving varieties of MR220, CL2, MR263, and MR 269, while at Northwest Selangor, 40% of the planting area involved MR284, MR220, CL2, and MR219 varieties. The country produced 71% of the rice after the Second National Agriculture Policy (NAP) in the year 2000 and only increased by 72% at the end of 2010, passing the target of 65% of SSL. Malaysia announced its intention to reach self-sufficiency level (SSL) by the year 2020, but has been extended to the year 2050. In general, several factors favour the BLB disease’s development, particularly in irrigated and rainfed lowland areas, with temperatures of 25-34ºC and humidity above 70 instead of high nitrogen levels and the absence of resistant varieties. This disease could be overcome by practicing a few control methods to prevent the disease’s development.