Sheath blight symptoms caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kϋhn were studied in different wild rice plants namely Oryza officinalis, O. alta, O. rhizomatis, O. latifolia, O. longistaminata, O. grandiglumis, O. eichingeri and O. nivara which served as the primary sources of survival of the fungus, helping in disease perpetuation and acting as the principal predisposing factors for initiation and spread of the disease.