TAIPEI (Taiwan News)—The Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station's field monitoring has discovered rice blast disease, associated with the first rice planting of the year in southern Taiwan, affecting rice yield and quality.

Farmers have been advised to be on the lookout for rice blast, which often occurs due to day and night temperature differences and high humidity, which can result in morning dew. To counter the disease, farmers are urged to cut back on nitrogen fertilizer which enables unhealthy rice to survive, per CNA.

Agricultural specialists also warn that densely planted rice paddies with poor ventilation are more susceptible to developing severe rice blast. The pathogen can harm leaves, stem nodes, and ligules, initially forming brown or dark green spots on the leaf surface.

If the disease progresses, lesions form with a grayish center and reddish-brown color at the edges, causing leaves to wilt. The disease can eventually lead to the insufficient development of rice grain.

Luo Cheng-chung (羅正宗), director of the Kaohsiung Agricultural Improvement Station, said prevention is better than trying to cure the disease. Luo urged farmers to inspect leftover rice seedling mats and cull rice seedlings rather than risk disease spread.

In addition, if the rice paddies are already in the early stages of the disease, approved pesticides can be used to prevent and control it. However, farmers should be mindful of the correct dosage to prevent drug resistance.