AbstractThe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is particularly useful for plant pathogen detection. In the present study, multiplex PCR and SYBR Green real-time PCR were developed to facilitate the simultaneous detection of three important rice pathogens, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, and Burkholderia glumae. The unique PCR primer sets were designed from portions of a putative glycosyltransferase gene of X. oryzae pv. oryzae, an AvrRxo gene of X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, and an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of B. glumae. Using a multiplex PCR assay, X. oryzae pv. oryzae, X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, and B. glumae were detected in one PCR reaction that contained the newly developed primer set mix. Using SYBR Green real-time PCR assays, X. oryzae pv. oryzae, X. oryzae pv. oryzicola, and B. glumae were detected at 1, 1, and 10fgμL−1, respectively. These newly designed molecular assays are sensitive and could be reliable tools for pathogen detection and disease forecasting.