Management of damping-off of tomato with botanicals and bio-products in North Western Himalayas

Damping-off is a serious disease of tomato nurseries which results in high seedling mortality. Seventeen locally available plant extracts, three neem based commercial fomulations, one botanical fungicide (Biotos), raw neem oil, neem cake extract (NCE), cow urine and cow dung ash were assessed for the management of damping-off of tomato under the mid hill conditions of North Western Himalayas (NWH). Among them, extracts of Lantana camara, neem cake extract, cow urine, Urtica parviflora, Sapium sp., Ligustrum nepalensis, Eucalyptus sp., Azadirachtin (Achook^®) were found most promising for the management of pre-emergence damping-off and also simultaneously improved seedling emergence and seedling vigour. However, in case of post-emergence damping-off Curcuma longa and Thuja compacta were observed to be the most effective treatments. The study shows that the treatment of seed with extracts of Lantana camara, neem cake and cow urine can be effectively utilized as a cost effective and eco-friendly method for the management of damping-off of tomato in organic farming and remote areas of hills where pesticides availability is meager.