Vol. 12, Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
VM Gholve, GS Pawar, SN Banne and NS Pondkhule

Abstract:
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), is one of the most popular fruit vegetable crops grown throughout the world. In India, tomato is grown in almost all states, and the major states are: Bihar which ranks first followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa and Maharashtra. Among the fungal diseases infecting tomato crop, early blight caused by Alternaria solani (Ellis and Martin) Jones and Grout, is one of the most destructive diseases causing accountable qualitative and quantitative losses. The study investigated the efficacy of eleven fungicides, tested at concentrations of 1000 and 1500 parts per million (PPM), in inhibiting the mycelial growth of A. solani, a common pathogen. Results demonstrated significant inhibition of mycelial growth across all tested fungicides compared to the control. At 1000 PPM, systemic fungicides exhibited inhibition ranging from 56.88% to 94.44%, with Propiconazole showing the highest efficacy. At 1500 PPM, non-systemic fungicides ranged from 50.81% to 94.44% inhibition, with Propineb and Captan ranking highest. Combi-fungicides at 1500 PPM displayed inhibition ranging from 64.23% to 94.44%, with Azoxystrobin + Difenoconazole and Tebuconazole + Trifloxystrobin being the most effective. Among bioagents, Trichoderma spp. showed significant inhibition, with T. harzianum demonstrating the highest efficacy (81.36% inhibition).