In the crop field of paddy in Japan, some plants showed excessive growth in length and failed to flower. These plants were found infected with a fungus named as Gibberella fuji-Kuro. Hori (1898) studied this disease and named it a Baknae disease. These plants were commonly named as foolish seedling because of their unusual appearance in the crop field. Baknae in Japanese means foolish. Hence this disease was named as Baknae.
