Survey on turcicum leaf blight in major maize growing areas of Telangana

Abstract

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the important cereal crops of the world. It is the world’s third leading cereal crop, after wheat and rice.Maize crop was prone to several foliar and stalk rot diseases. Among the foliar diseases,the fungus Exserohilum turcicum (Pass.) Leonard and Suggs was a major foliar fungal pathogen affecting photosynthesis with severe reduction in grain yield to an extent of 28 to 91%. Hence, to know its damage and the extent of severity a survey was carried out in three major maize growing districts of Telangana. The highest mean maximum turcicum blight incidence was recorded in Karimnagar district (31.5%) followed by Mahaboobnagar (28.6%) and least disease incidence of 9.00 per cent was recorded in Dandumailaram village of Ranga Reddy district.