Vol. 11, Issue 8 (2022)

Author(s):
M Manasa, Y Sireesha, Y Deepthi Kiran, K Arunodhayam, P Syam Sundar Reddy and Ch. Ruth

Abstract:
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill.) also known as poor man’s orange belongs to the family Solanaceae is one of the most grown vegetables globally. It is intensively grown in Chittoor, Kurnool and YSR Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh. The yield of tomato is confronted to losses caused by many soil borne pathogens, amongst majorly by Fusarium wilt caused by soil borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). To understand and estimate the percentage of Fusarium wilt infection, a roving survey was conducted in tomato intensive growing areas of Rayalaseema zone of Andhra Pradesh during Kharif, 2021. The occurrence of wilt incidence ranged from 15% to 60%. During survey, different stages of symptom development was observed viz., initially yellowing of older leaves, drooping and epinasty of leaves, loss of leaf turgidity, lateral wilting on one side of the plant. Under severe circumstances, even stunted growth, vascular discoloration and death of the whole plants were observed. Furthermore, positive correlation was noticed between disease severity and weather temperature which would have aggravated the wilt incidence. Survey concluded that the need of management practices to reduce the Fusarium wilt, which depends on weather parameters.