To create blast congenial environment, windbreaks around the experiment and inoculum plots inside the
windbreak were managed as per international specifications (Jennings et al 1979). The seedbeds were
raised up to 15 cm high above the ground to avoid flooding. The fertilizers were applied at the rate of
150 and 50 kg ha-1 of N and P2O5, respectively, at the time of planting. Five-gram seed of each line was
seeded in a row of 0.5 m long. Weed management was done as needed. Disease evaluation was started
28 days after seeding and continued for three observations at 3-day interval. Six randomly selected