EPIDEMIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT OF WHEAT
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Date
2022-06-30
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palampur
Abstract
The investigation entitled “Epidemiology and management of Fusarium head blight
of wheat” was conducted at the Department of Plant Pathology, CSK HPKV, Palampur and
Research farm of Rice and Wheat Research Centre (RWRC), Malan during 2019-21. The
average disease incidence and severity of FHB at different locations of Himachal Pradesh
varied from 3.25 to 7.74 and 15.08 to 25.29 per cent during 2019-20 and 2020-21,
respectively. Three Fusarium species viz., Fusarium graminearum, F. compactum and F.
avenaceum were found associated with the disease but F. graminearum was more prevalent
in all the surveyed locations of Himachal Pradesh. The temperature of 25°C and pH of 5.0
were found to be optimum for mycelial growth, sporulation and perithecia formation of the
fungus. The seed and crop residue of maize, wheat and rice served as the primary source of
inoculum for the disease development. All the weather parameters viz., temperature,
relative humidity and rainfall contributed for the disease development as all of them
individually and collectively showed positive correlations with disease severity. Out of 200
tested genotypes of wheat, 13 were found free from disease, 26 as resistant and 54 as
moderately resistant to FHB under artificial inoculations. Under in vitro conditions,
beejamrit, extracts of Acorus calamus (aqueous and alcoholic), Trichoderma harzianum
(TH-5) and carbendazim 50 WP gave highest inhibition of F. graminearum. In a pot
experiment, seed treatment and two foliar sprays of carbendazim 50 WP gave maximum
reduction (71.85 & 77.16%) in disease incidence and severity, respectively. However,
among non-chemical management components beejamrit, aqueous extract of Acorus
calamus and Trichoderma harzianum (TH-5) gave maximum reduction in disease
incidence and severity. An integrated treatment viz., seed treatment with carbendazim 50
WP (0.2 %) followed by three foliar sprays each of jeevamrit (1 %), aqueous extract of
Acorus calamus (1 %) and carbendazim 50 WP (0.1 %) at 10 days interval was found to be
most effective giving 57.26 and 61.56 per cent reduction in disease incidence and severity,
respectively.