Interaction of Temperature and Moisture on Infection of Wild Rice by Bipolaris oryzae in the Growth Chamber

Infection of wild rice (Zizania palustris) flag leaves by Bipolaris oryzae was studied at temperatures of 5 to 35°C and wet periods of 2 to 36 h after inoculation. Lesion densities (lesions/cm²) increased with increasing wet periods depending on optimum temperature. High rates of infection occurred at 25 and 30°C and generally increased with continuous wet periods of 16, 18, 24, and 28 h. There were no lesions at 5°C and few at 10 and 35°C. Lesion densities declined when wet periods of 2, 4, or 6 h were interrupted by dry periods of 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 h followed by a final 14 h of wetness. Lesion densities decreased at all temperatures with increased dry periods regardless of the initial wet period. The interaction of dry period length × wet period length × temperature was significant at the 0.5% level. With continuous wet periods, lesion numbers were highest at 25 to 30°C.