Bacterial Leaf Blight

Symptom

The symptom usually begins at the leaf margin near the tip. At first, tiny water-soaked lesions appear on the leaf margin. Lesions may start at one or both edges of the leaves. The lesions enlarge both in length and width, have a wavy margin, and turn yellow within a few days.  As the disease advances, the lesions cover the entire leaf blade and turn grayish-white. On the surface of young lesions, milky or opaque dew drops (bacterial ooze) may be observed in the early morning. They dry up to form small, yellowish, spherical beads which are easily shaken off by wind and drop into the field water. These bacterial massess are seldom found on old lesions which have become grayish-white. Since rice paddies are flooded throughout most of the growing season, may easily spread among crops; bacteria travel through the water from infected plants to the roots and leaves of neighboring rice plants. Wind and water may also help spread  bacteria to other crops and rice paddies.