A bacterium of the genus Pantoea ananatis, which may pose a threat to rice cultivation, has been discovered in the Kuttanad agro-ecosystem for the first time.
According to researchers who made the discovery, the bacteria cause a disease that affects paddy ears with symptoms similar to bacterial leaf blight. The study carried out by T.S. Reshma, a researcher at the Department of Postgraduate Studies and Research in Botany, SD College, Alappuzha; C. Dileep, associate professor at the college; and Smitha Balan, assistant director, Kerala Centre for Pest Management; was published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology.
