A total of 24 blast infected samples were collected from major finger millet growing areas of Tamil Nadu and also from All India Coordinated Small Millets Improvement Project Centres (ICAR) in India. Pathogenicity test with Magnaporthe grisea isolates showed highly significant differences in virulence on the variety KM 252 in the severity of leaf blast. Among the five different media tested, the Oat Meal Agar medium (OMA) was found to be best for the growth of M. grisea isolates and all the isolates produced white colony colour. The mean mycelial growth was maximum in OMA medium with mm. The temperature 25 0C and pH was found to be ideal for growth, sporulation and mycelial dry weight of M. grisea isolates. Of the different carbon sources, Richard’s medium with supplemented dextrose recorded the maximum mean mycelial growth of M. grisea isolates with mm. Among the nitrogen sources, the Richard’s medium supplemented with NaNO3 recorded the maximum mean mycelial growth of mm. This study was conducted to isolate, identify and characterize the pathogen using cultural, morphological, physiological and biochemical methods. | Cultural, morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of Magnaporthe grisea isolates of finger millet
