Sheath blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, severely affects rice, causing 20-69% yield losses in tropical and temperate regions. Key challenges include the pathogen's broad host range, persistent sclerotia, climate change, and the reliance on semi-dwarf varieties. The disease's complex inheritance and lack of highly resistant cultivars hinder management, making resistant variety breeding a sustainable solution. This study mapped sheath blight resistance Quantitative trait locus (QTLs) from PAU-shb8, a moderately resistant rice line. This line exhibited moderate resistance with a disease score of 3 (RLH <
20%), whereas susceptible rice cultivar PR121 scored 9 (RLH >
60%). Screening of 1160 plants from BC