BIOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF FINGER MILLET (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertan) FOOT ROT CAUSED BY Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc

A.J. DESHMUKH¹*, V.P. PRAJAPATI², P. SINGH³, R.P. BAMBHAROLIA⁴, H.E. PATIL⁵, B.K. PATEL⁶, C.J. PATEL^7
1Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Waghai, 394730, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
²Department of Plant Pathology, ASPEE college of Horticulture, Vejalpore, 396450, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
³Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Waghai, 394730, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
⁴Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Waghai, 394730, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
⁵Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Hill Millet Research Station, Waghai, 394730, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
⁶Department of Agronomy, Pulses and Castor Research Station, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
⁷Department of Entomology, ASPEE Shakilam Biotechnology Institute, Surat, 395007, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
* Corresponding Author : amol_deshmukhnau@nau.in

Received : 11-10-2023     Accepted : 28-11-2023     Published : 30-11-2023
Volume : 15     Issue : 11       Pages : 12737 - 12740
Int J Agr Sci 15.11 (2023):12737-12740

Keywords : Finger millet, Foot rot, Sclerotium rolfsii, Biological management
Academic Editor : Dr Prashant Shrivastava, Namrata Dwivedi
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to Authors are thankful to Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Waghai, 394730; Hill Millet Research Station, Waghai, 394730 and Director of Research, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, 396450, Gujarat, India
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

Finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn] is one of the important millet crops of India. In Gujarat, finger millet is the staple food of the tribal people of the Dangs district of south Gujarat and is grown as rainfed crop in kharif season on least fertile hilly soils. Finger millet is a rich source of protein, dietary fiber, minerals and amino acids. This crop is grown on an average area of about 12128 ha per year in the Dangs district of Gujarat. In kharif season due to continuous, heavy rainfall, high humidity and warm temperature, the crop is heavily infested by a soil borne foot rot disease incidence (up to 47%) and found to be a major constraint in the production of finger millet, resulting in direct crop losses mainly in The Dang district of south Gujarat. Since recent past, the Dangs district of south Gujarat was declared as organic district and thus, a field experiment on biological management of finger millet foot rot was formulated and conducted for three years. Two bio agents viz., T. viride 1.5% WP (2 x 10? cfu/g) (IIHR strain) and P. fluorescence 1.5% liquid form (1 x 10? cfu / ml) (NAU strain) were used as seed treatment and soil application. Among all the treatments, maximum disease control and grain production was reported in the seed treatment of P. fluorescence @ 10 ml / kg of seeds + two soil applications of P. fluorescence @ 2.5 l /ha in 250 kg FYM at transplanting and at 50% flowering with the minimum foot rot incidence of (9.63%) and highest grain (3415 kg/ ha) and fodder yield (7091 kg/ ha) which was found at par with the seed treatment of T. viride @ 10g/kg of seeds + two soil applications of T. viride @ 2.5 kg /ha in 250 kg FYM at transplanting and at 50% flowering with the foot rot incidence of (12.59 %) and highest grain (3226 kg/ha) and fodder yield (6173 kg/ ha) followed by all the other treatment and control with positive effect on average plant height (cm), average number of productive tillers per plant, average number of fingers, average finger length and bio agent cfu /gm soil at harvest with high cost benefit ratio

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