Major diseases of rice in Asia: Occurrence, impact, and management strategies with special focus on south Asia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26832/24566632.2026.1102017Keywords:
Integrated disease management, Magnaporthe oryzae, Rice diseases, South Asia, Xanthomonas oryzaeAbstract
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the principal staple food of South Asia, supporting the livelihoods and nutrition of over 1.8 billion people across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Despite its critical importance, rice production in the region is persistently undermined by a wide spectrum of diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes, which collectively cause yield losses ranging from 10 to 80 percent annually. This review aims to synthesize the current status, epidemiology, economic impact, and management of the major rice diseases of South Asia, and to highlight the role of emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools for
sustainable disease control. Ten major diseases were classified into four causal-agent groups, and seven of greatest economic significance were analyzed in detail Rice Blast (Magnaporthe oryzae), Bacterial Leaf Blight (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae), Sheath Blight (Rhizoctonia solani), Brown Spot (Bipolaris oryzae), False Smut (Ustilaginoidea virens), Bakanae (Fusarium fujikuroi) and Rice Tungro Virus. Maximum reported yield losses were 80% for Rice Tungro, 70% for Rice Blast, 60% for Bacterial Leaf Blight, 50% for Sheath Blight and 58% for Brown Spot, with an estimated regional economic burden of US$ 4–10 billion per year. Thus, integration of host resistance with AI-assisted, edge-deployable diagnostic systems offers a region-specific and climate-adaptive pathway for sustainable rice disease management in South Asia, distinct from the chemical-centric approaches that have so far dominated the region.
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