Officials in Heilongjiang are pinning the blame on heat and high humidity this summer in northeast China as part of the reason for a major outbreak of rice blast.
The devastating fungus has already infected more than a quarter of the rice crop in the province, one of China's most important agricultural bases.
Officials are warning the outbreak could significantly reduce grain production in the region.
Chen Jiguan is the director of Heilongjiang's Plant Protection Agency.
"The most urgent issue at hand is not how much or how seriously some of the rice leaves have already been infected, but how to stop the disease, which may cause severe losses in rice production. The provincial government has allocated an emergency fund to control the outbreak in two million mu of severely affected land with aerial sprays."
At the same time, officials are warning the drought conditions currently plaguing parts of central and northern China are also likely to impact this year's harvest.
