Prevalence of Bacterial Leaf Blight in Rice Across Andhra Pradesh and In vitro Assessment of Silver and Copper Nanoparticles against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

Bacterial leaf blight is one of the most destructive diseases in rice which leads to yield loss of 20-40%. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of bacterial leaf blight in rice across Andhra Pradesh. A roving survey was conducted during Kharif 2023 in Andhra Pradesh to assess the severity of bacterial leaf blight disease in rice. The percent disease index averages from 25 to 59.6% was recorded. The maximum disease severity was observed in the tillering stage. The maximum percent disease index was observed in Chinta reddy Palem village in Nellore district (59.60%), while the minimum was recorded in Denduluru village in Eluru district (25%). The disease was more severe in the BPT-5204 variety. In spite chemical control, there are chances of development of resistance. There is a need for nanotechnology intervention for management of disease. This study also investigates the antimicrobial activity of copper and silver nanoparticles against Xoo by using paper disc diffusion method under invitro conditions. Silver nanoparticles exhibited the highest anti-microbial activity when compared with copper nanoparticles at 0.1% and 0.2% concentrations, respectively. Further research is needed to explore the field application of nanoparticles and their long-term effects on rice crops.