Studies on Management of Collar Rot of Lentil Caused by Sclerotium Rolfsii

Abstract

Lentil is an important Rabi pulse crops in the country. It has potential to grow in dry land areas., used as a cover crop to check the soil erosion. It is mainly cultivated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Several diseases are known to infect lentil (Lens culinaris) during its growth stages. Among them, collar rot caused by Sclerotium rolfsii, is very common in all the major lentil growing areas. The characteristic symptoms include white fungal strands (mycelia or hyphae) around collar region of the infected plant parts and on the soil surrounding the plant. The pathogens cause damping-off of seedlings,brown and necrotic lesions girdle the stem near ground level resulting in yellowing of leaves and drying of plants. The disease causes appreciable loss in yield due to which, area under this crop is consistently decreasing. For restoring the area, production and productivity of lentil, it is necessary to reduce the loss caused by this disease. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objectives on the efficacy of fungicides, bio-agents, assessment of induced systemic resistance in vitro and comparative study combining various management tactics against Sclerotium rolfsii. Complete mycelial inhibition was recorded with fungicides Curzate M and Nativo at all the concentrations (50,75,100 ppm) after 96 hrs of inoculation. Among the bio-agents the maximum inhibition was shown by Chaetomium globosum(83.21%) followed by Pseudomonas fluorescens(76%) and Trichoderma viridae(71.86%). During assessment for ISR maximum Peroxidase activity was recoded in plants where seeds were bioprimed with Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens and maximum level of Total phenols were recorded in plants where seeds were bioprimed with Trichoderma harzianum. During the assessment of Integrated Disease Management least percent disease incidence, maximum yield and germination percentage were recorded in Trichoderma and Pseudomonas bioprimed seeds followed by soil application with Carbendazim and Trichoderma harzianum. Hence, we can say that biopriming and integrated management show appreciable results in reducing disease incidence, increasing growth, yield and resistance as well.