Effect of weather variables on banded leaf and sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii) of fodder maize and its integrated management Banyal D. K.*, Thakur Ashima, Parwan Sonali, Singh Amar Department of Plant Pathology, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur-176062 *E-mail: dkbanyal@gmail.com
Online Published on 28 August, 2023. Abstract Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important Kharif fodder crop which gives highly succulent and nutritionally rich fodder and also a rich source of starch, protein and edible oil. Banded leaf and sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii is one of the most important disease of maize and has gained economic importance. The disease was monitored at Palampur for three consecutive years and 9.33 per cent disease incidence was observed. The temperature, rainfall and relative humidity contributed 76, 71 and 63 per cent effect on the disease incidence in 2017, 2018 and 2019 cropping years, respectively. During Kharif 2017 and 2018, a field experiment was conducted for integrated management of the disease and seed treatment with carbendazim, followed by two foliar applications of trifloxystrobin+tebuconazole @ 1g/l, was found to be highly effective with 79.61 per cent disease control and 11.88 per cent increase in yield over check. Among non-chemical disease control, seed treatment with Trichoderma viride followed by two foliar applications of Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 5g/l (CFU 107) reduced the prevalence of disease by 38.44 per cent with 4.36 per cent increase in the green fodder yield. Integration of biological control agent (BCA)’s and chemicals also provided good disease management and increase in green fodder yield ranging from 55-65 per cent and 4-9 per cent, respectively. Among combinations of BCA’s and chemicals, seed treatment with carbendazim@ 2 g/kg seed followed by one spray each of carbendazim@ 1g/l and P. fluorescens @ 5g (CFU 107)/l gave 61.54 per cent disease control and 6.60 per cent increase in yield. This was followed by seed treatment with carbendazim@ 2 g/kg seed followed by one spray each of (trifloxystrobin +tebuconazole) @ 1g/l and P. fluorescens@ 5g (CFU 107)/ l with disease control of 59.23 per cent and yield increase of 6.99 per cent, respectively. Top Keywords Maize, Forage, Banded leaf and sheath blight, Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii, Integrated disease management. Top |