Direct effects of atmospheric ozone on conidia of the rice blast pathogen, Magnaporthe grisea, were investigated to evaluate ozone-induced effects on infection potential of the rice blast fungus. Acute ozone exposure (200 nl l(-1), 8 h day-1, 3 days) during sporulation significantly affected conidial morphology, appressorium formation, and disease development on rice leaves. Ozone caused reduction in conidial size and change in conidial shape. Relative cytoplasmic volume of lipids and vacuoles were increased in ozone-exposed conidia. Inhibition of appressorium formation and simultaneous increase in endogenous level of polyamines were found in ozone-exposed conidia. The inverse relationship between appressorium formation and level of polyamines implies that ozone-mediated increase in intracellular level of polyamines may inhibit appressorium formation in rice blast fungus. Furthermore, rice plants inoculated with ozone-fumigated conidia exhibited less severe disease development than those with unfumigated conidia. This result suggests that the anti-conidial consequence of acute ozone will eventually weaken the rice blasts potential for multiple infection cycle. This further suggests that consequently, rice blast can be transformed from an explosive disease to one that has limited epidemiological potential in the field.