Vol. 12, Issue 12 (2023)

Author(s):
Neha Sharma and Sanjeev Ravi

Abstract:
Anthracnose of bell pepper caused by Colletotrichum capsici incites significant yield losses all over the world. In the present study, the efficacy of four botanicals viz. Allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Aloe barbadensis, Acorus calamus at 10% concentration (w/v) and talc formulations of three bio-agents viz. Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride, T. asperellum at 5g/l of water were tested by the foliar application method for the management of the disease. Among the test botanicals, garlic was found effective in reducing the disease with average percentage disease index (PDI) of 5.70 percent, whereas, it was 28.55 percent in the control. In the test bio-agents, T. viride was found effective in reducing the disease with average PDI of 7.65 percent. Similarly, Garlic and Trichoderma viride were found effective in reducing the disease incidence, disease severity and percentage of infected fruits while Turmeric was found the least effective in managing the disease with disease incidence, diseases severity and percent infected fruit per plant of 19.32, 11.15 and 20.77 percent, respectively. In addition, the treatment with garlic resulted in maximum number of fruits/plant i.e.,18.16, while, it was minimum in control i.e., 4.58. Among the all-treatments, maximum average yield was recorded in Garlic (370.79 q/ha), which is 76 percent higher than the control. Therefore, the use of garlic effectively manages the disease in a sustainable manner and increases the crop yield.