I got a question from a grower recently about Bakanae. The grower is seeing bakanae affected plants in the same field where the disease was observed last year. The question was if Bakanae can survive in the field. Studies from Asia have shown that resting structures of the Bakanae fungus can survive in the soil for up to four months. However, infested soil is not considered a major source of Bakanae inoculum. There could be some survival of the fungus in the soil, resulting in infections the following season; infection rate would be low. In cases of high infection rates, the disease was most likely transmitted by seed.

Here's a previous post about Bakanae