Comparison between the resistance to blast in panicles exserted from the main culm and primary tillers as measured in six rice varieties

Three rice japonica varieties Jiajing3768, Xiushui09, and Xiushui63 and three rice indica varieties Qianyou930, Liangyoupeijiu, and Liangyou6326 were used to analyze the resistance to neck blast, comparing panicles excised from the main culm and from the first primary tiller. Disease incidence in the necks, disease incidence in the rachis nodes, lesion length in the necks, and number of conidia in the necks were measured after artificial inoculation of excised neck pieces. Resistance to neck blast was higher in the panicles excised from the main culm than from the first primary tiller for the varieties Jiajing3768, Xiushui63, and Liangyou6326. However, the opposite was true for Xiushui09 and Liangyoupeijiu. In Qianyou930, the type of panicles had no significant influence on the resistance to neck blast.