Research Institute. Control measures The disease is very serious in different parts of the world. The management of this disease requires an integrative approach. An integrated approach The best way to control Helminthosporium diseases is through an integrated approach. It includes the use of a variety of resistance sources, such as hexaploid wheat from Brazil and China (some of which is rate-limiting), alien genes and synthetic wheats. In addition, appropriate management practices that enhance the health of the plant populations, in general, are critical. Cooperation of pathologists, breeders and agronomists will be necessary to ensure sustainable control of this group of diseases. Economic feasibility of recommended practices has to be determined as part of the research. Options for controlling tan spot and spot blotch include disease-free seed, seed treatment with fungicides, proper crop rotation and fertilization, cultural practices in order to reduce inoculum sources, the use of chemicals and the research of disease resistance. The latter offers the best long-term control at no cost for the farmer and is ecologically safe. Seed health In Brazil, it is recommended not to plant seed lots with more than 3% black point to limit spot blotch. Seed treatment may prove to be appropriate, although the inoculum remaining on secondary hosts or in the soil may reduce the treatment efficiency. Seed treatments with phytoalexin inducer appeared to provide good protection to wheat seedlings against B. sorokiniana infection. Seed treatment with fungicide will help protect germinating seed and seedlings from fungi causing seedling blights. Fungicide seed treatments include: captan, mancozeb, maneb, thiram, pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) or carboxin guazatine plus, iprodione and triadimefon (Stack and McMullen, 1988; Mehta, 1993). Seed-borne inoculum of P. tritici-repentis can be controlled with seed-applied fungicides, such as guazatine and guazatine + imazalil, but other chemicals are also effective. Rotations and crop management Clearing or ploughing in the stubble, grass weeds and volunteer cereals reduce inoculum as does crop rotation (Diehl et al., 1982). Reis et al. (1998) indicate that eradicant fungicide treatment of the seed and crop rotation with non-host crops can control spot blotch. In the rice-wheat system of South Asia, little work has been done on the epidemiology of HLB and how management of the rotation crops affects spot blotch and tan spot, except as noted earlier. More quantitative information is required on the role of alternate rotations, soil and plant nutrition, inoculum sources and climate. In the rice-wheat system,