ABSTRACT
Brown stripe downy mildew (BSDM) of maize is one of the most important downy mildew diseases of maize. In India, BSDM of maize disease has been reported from various states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. BSDM of maize manifest itself is the vein-limited striping of foliage especially leaves. In some maize genotypes, the pathogen induces stripes with reddish to reddish-purple borders and with bleached centers. This process of necrosis of stripes coincides with the development of the teleomorphic stage and indicates the cessation of sporangial production. The disease cycle involves both sexual and asexual reproduction. Primary inoculum comes from oospores over seasoning in soil, plant debris or from mycelium in infected seed. Resistance to BSDM was in the partial or complete dominance range and additive gene action appeared to play a role in disease resistance.
