Differentiation between White Ears in Paddy Caused by Yellow Stem Borer and Neck Blast

The paddy plants attacked by yellow stem boier at flowering stage produce ears devoid of grain, known as the 'white ears'. The 'white ears" may also be caused by the neck blast, a fungal disease. During the Boro season of paddy (varieties : I. R. - 36, I. E. T. - 4786) surveys were conducted at Basanti Block of Sundarban region of West Bengal, India from December 2004 to April 2005 to find out the differences between two similar symptoms of white ears, caused by yellow stem bores and by neck blasts for facilitating their control measures. Data were collected at an interval of 7 days. Nature of damage was recorded during each survey trip. During investigation, it has been observed that about 20% of white ears were caused by yellow stem borer and about 80% of white ears by neck blast.