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Stem rot disease of rice has previously reported from Turkey many years ago. Since it did not cause severe damage on rice crop, was forgotten for years. Recently, rice growers in Samsun province (Turkey), complained about stem rot disease and Sclerotium oryzae was isolated from the diseased plants. In the present study, incidence and severity of the disease in the province and reactions of some rice cultivars against the disease were investigated. As a result of surveys, the disease was found to be common in all rice growing areas of Samsun with 75.1% mean incidence rate and 36.5% severity rate. Pathogenicity trial showed that ‘Ribe’ cultivar and ‛Ergene’ cultivars were highly resistant to the disease, while 5 other cultivars were moderately resistant or moderately susceptible. It was determined that stem rot disease with severity rate less than 30% did not significantly affect the heights and fresh weights of rice plants