Management of dry root rot of chickpea through botanical, plant bi-product and bio-control agent

Abstract

Gram or Chickpea (Cicerarietinum Linnaeus), a member of family Fabaceae. It is ranked 3rd after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and pea (Pisumsativum L.). Chickpea is attacked by 172 pathogens (67 fungi, 22 viruses, 3 bacteria, 80 nematodes and mycoplasma) from all over the world (Nene et al. 1996). The experiment on confirmation of pathogenicity of Rhizoctoniabataticola on chickpea was conducted under pot conditions after growing the test fungus on gram straw, soaked in 0.5 per cent dextrose solution and then mixing it with the sterilized pot soil. The pathogenicity of Rhizoctoniabataticola on chickpea was confirmed by growing the fungus on gram straw soaked in 0.5 dextrose and then mixing at with pot soil. The symptoms appeared within 13 days and the plants were killed within 16 days after sowing the test fungus was recovered from the roots of diseased plants. The results obtained during the course of investigations that in vitro evaluation of plant leaves extracts neem was recorded to be superior in inhibiting the mycelial growth of R. bataticola. At all the concentrations under test Eucalyptus and Jatropha were also found superior in inhibiting the fungus under laboratory conditions but their efficacies declined as the time lapsed. The wilt symptoms on chickpea appeared within 13 days and the plants were killed 16 days after sowing. The roots of the plants showed typical browning at the color region which advanced further and disintegrate the roots.