Current Status of Rice Blast in Vietnam and Future Perspectives

The rice blast disease caused by the fungus Pyricularia oryzae has become one of the greatest concerns of rice farmers in Vietnam. This review discusses the current status of rice blast as well as its social and economic impacts. This review also further examines the current management strategies used to combat blast disease, and evaluate their efficacy. Among several commonly used strategies, this review will also discuss emerging and largely underexplored strategies including biocontrol methods. Finally, this review will provide a comprehensive summary on the current state of the disease and propose plans of action to mitigate these challenges in the context of Vietnam’s agriculture.