Evaluation of Maize Genotypes Against Southern Corn Leaf Blight

The use of foliar fungicides is less feasible because of farmers little knowledge about the suitable fungicide, however the application of resistant varieties is easy to adopt practice under our local conditions, therefore it is necessary to identify resistant maize genotypes.The project was aimed to determine the resistance level of different maize genotypes against the disease SCLB through the process of screening and evaluation, so that information acquired could be of vital use for the scientific research of phytopathologist and plant breeders and also for the farmers of the country. In vitro, pure cultures of the pathogen were prepared and their morphology was studied through microscopy.The study was conducted in the field by inoculation of genotypes by isolated pathogen. Disease assessment data was recorded along with various yield components.The results clearly showed that C. heterostrophus had significant effect on different maize genotypes. The genotypes that showed resistance to SCLB infection could be used in breeding programs.

Hassan Javed obtained his PhD in Plant Microbe Interactions at South China Agricultural University , PRC China. He is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Plant Sciences Department of Quaid-i-Azam University,Islamabad,Pakistan, where he leads a group conducting research on plant microbe interactions.He published a novel bacterial specie.