Ecofriendly management of rhizoctonia leaf blight of amaranthus

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Date
2003
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Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani
Abstract
The present investigation was undertaken at College of Agriculture, Vellayani during the year 2002-2003 to evolve an ecofriendly practice for the management of foliar blight of amaranthus caused by Rhizoctonia so/ani. Biocontrol agents like Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas jluorescens, a newly discovered root endophyte, Piriformospora indica and indigenous materials like turmeric powder-baking soda and rice husk ash were used in the study. From among the ten isolates of R. so/ani, the isolate R3 (Vellayani) which produced maximum disease symptoms W?3 selected for the study. Among the four fungal antagonists tested against R. so/ani, T. harzianum emerged as the most potential one. The fungus, P. indica when subjected to dual culture with R. so/ani did not cause any inhibition on its growth. Among the four isolates of P. jluorescens tested against R. so/ani, the isolate B3 showed maximum inhibition followed by the isolate KK16. The culture filtrate of the isolate of P. jluorescens viz., B3 alone exerted inhibitory effect on the growth of R. so/ani. The different combinations of turmeric powder-baking soda and rice husk ash did not inhibit the growth of R. so/ani . . ' Pot culture experiments were conducted to assess the efficacy of biocontrol agents and indigenous materials in managing the disease and enhancing the growth of amaranthus. Among the three concentrations of rice husk ash used, the highest concentration of 1000 g produced maximum disease suppression and enhancement of growth. Rice husk ash exerted significant effects on all the growth parameters. The fungal antagonist T. harzianum and bacterial isolates B3 and KK16 were found to be highly effective in reducing the disease and enhancing growth. 10 : I combination of turmeric powder-baking soda was found to enhance the growth significantly and there was a reduction in the disease incidence also. The highest concentration of P. indica (2.00 per cent) recorded the maximum root colonization and exerted significant effects on root length and root dry weight. Changes in the level of total phenols, amino acids carbohydrates and enzymes like PAL, PO and PPO due to the above treatments were estimated. Soil application followed by foliar spray of fungal and bacterial antagonists significantly enhanced the activity of the defense related enzymes. The level of total phenol was found to be higher for plants treated with T. harzianum. There was no significant increase in amino acid and carbohydrate content due to these treatments. The results of this study indicate that the efficient strains of T. harzianum and P. fluorescens (soil or foliar application) can be used in tandem with rice husk ash to evolve a suitable ecofriendly disease management strategy to combat foliar blight of amaranthus.
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PG
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172205
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