Vol. 11, Special Issue 11 (2022)

Pearl millet blast caused by ascomycete fungus Magnaporthe grisea (Herbert) (anamorph: Pyricularia grisea (Cook) Sacc.) has become a disease of economic importance in pearl millet cultivation in India. The use of resistant cultivars is the best approach to combat yield losses by M. grisea. However, the pathogen overcomes the resistance in a few years of releasing a resistant variety, making resistance breeding a constant challenge. To mitigate this, regular monitoring of virulence pattern and distribution of the disease is essential. A roving survey was conducted in the major pearl millet growing areas of northern Karnataka. Result revealed that a total of Seventy-four blast infected leaf samples were collected from the major pearl millet growing regions of north Karnataka. Maximum disease incidence was recorded from Eradoni, Raichur district followed by Kamalapura, Medanapura, Kalaburgi district. Whereas the minimum disease incidence was recorder from the pearl millet fields belong to Bavi kodi, Vijayapura. This clearly indicates that pearl millet growing in and around Raichur region is more susceptible to the blast disease and the disease is wider spread in that particular location that leads to complete crop loss. This alarms that need to development of blast resistant verity/hybrids to overcome this disease.