Effects of agro-pedo-meteorological conditions on dynamics of temperate rice blast epidemics and associated yield and milling losses

Blast epidemics were significantly affected by all the factors considered, with rice variety and year as the most important sources of variability. Areas under disease progress curves were significantly correlated with losses in field yield and even more in yield after milling, with panicle blast proving to be the most impactful symptomatology. Year and variety ranked first and second among the factors explaining yield losses, both in field and after milling. These results confirm the effectiveness of varietal choice to reduce blast impact, indicating that fungicide applications should be conditional to the conduciveness of weather conditions.