PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Rice is the world's most significant human food commodity, feeding more people directly than any other crop. It is affected by several diseases viz., bacterial blight, bacterial leaf streak, brown spot, out of which blast of rice is the most devastating disease. It is caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. It can damage the seedling or plant up to the tillering stage and infection takes place on leaves, paddy collar, panicles and seeds and yield losses takes place in cases of severe infection. In favourable conditions, this disease can devastate entire rice plants within 15 to 20 days and cause yield losses of up to 100%. As this disease is most common and severe, number of expensive chemical control measures are used, which develops the resistance in pathogens, but certain potential alternative methods which have been explored by different studies, like Trichoderma spp., Pseudomonas spp. and plant extracts, like neem leaf extract (Azadirachta indica), garlic(Allium sativum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale). This review aims to increase awareness of the potential for developing plant protection strategies based on natural products and recommended the use of these bio-control agents and plant extracts.