Vaid, AmrishAbrol, Megha2023-11-082023-11-082023-10-10Abrol, M. 2023. Status and management of Karnal bunt of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Jammu sub tropics, M.Sc. Thesis, SKUAST-Jammu, India37069https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810200726Wheat is one of the major cereal crops cultivated worldwide. It is a healthy food that provides multiple nutrients and dietary fibres and is pivotal to global food security. In India, area under wheat cultivation is 30.47 million hectares with a total production of 106.84 million tonnes, whereas in the U. T. of Jammu and Kashmir it is cultivated over 282.78 thousand hectares with a production of 584.2 thousand tonnes.Wheat is susceptible to a wide range of fungal pathogens. Among these,Tilletia indica, causing Karnal bunt is a quarantine disease with great economic impacts on grain quality. Keeping in view significance of the crop and the disease, the present study concerning the occurrence and disease management of Karnal bunt of wheat in the Jammu subtropics was carried out during cropping years 2021-22 and 2022-2023. A survey was conducted to assessthe incidence of Karnal bunt in different locations of six districts, viz., Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur and Rajouri during the years 2021-22 and 2022-23. Maximum disease incidence was recorded in Jammu district (3.29%) followed by Reasi (2.76%), while minimumwas recorded in district Rajouri (0.33%). Hundred germplasm lines obtained from National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources and twenty-six cultivars obtained from SKUAST-Jammu were evaluated under artificial epiphytotic conditions against Karnal bunt. Out of 126, 6 genotypes/cultivarsviz.,IC416075, IC145334, IC572925, IC279616, HS-375 and VL-829 were found highly resistant. Disease management through different IDM components was carried out under field conditions and it was found that wheat crop sown on 5thNovember with a row spacing of 25 cm recorded minimum disease incidence of3.68 and 8.05 per cent, respectively. However, management through natural farming inputs and botanicals revealed that foliar spray of neem leaf extract was found most effective followed by Panchgavya with a disease incidence of 3.10 and 3.17 per cent respectively. It was also found during the study that seed treatment with T. asperellum followed by foliar spray gave the best results with disease incidence of 3.00 per cent. The efficacy of different fungicides on seed germination of bunted seeds was also evaluated and it was found that seed treatment with trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole (91.67%) and propiconazole (90%)showed maximum germination both of which were equally and highly effective and. However, seed treatment with tebuconazole followed by a foliar spray of trifloxystrobin + tebuconazolewas found most effective in the management of the disease under field conditions.EnglishThesis