Management of alternaria blight of mustard with combination of chemicals and botanicals

Field trial on efficacy of different spraying combinations of three fungicides and five plant extracts with mancozeb (0.2%) as fungicidal check was evaluated against Alternaria blight of mustard. Comparative analysis of various spraying schedules revealed that first spray of carbendazim (0.1%) + mancozeb (0.2%) followed by two sprays of mancozeb (0.2%) at early date of sowing (20^th October) was the best combination in reducing the disease severity on leaves (18.7%) and pods (10.4%) higher realization yield (1295.8 kg/ha), 10000 seed weight (5.12 g) and oil content (42.6%). Sowing of 20^th October also gave higher seed yield and significantly reducing disease intensity on leaves and pods in comparison to second date of sowing i.e. 20^th November. Among the botanicals integrated with standard check mancozeb, 5% aqueous extract of Datura stramonium, Eucalyptus globosus and Allium sativum reduced the disease intensity by 21.7, 23.3 and 25.5% on leaves, respectively. However, mancozeb provided the highest reduction (20.9%) on leaves and was statistically at par to these plant extracts. Apart from mancozeb, Datura was found to be most effective in increasing seed yield.