Eco-friendly Strategies in the Integrated Management of Root-knot Nematode in Bidi Tobacco

The pooled analysis of data pertaining to four years of investigation revealed that application of poultry manure 1 t/ha + carbofuran 5 kg/ha as spot application recorded minimum incidence (20.1%). The root-knot index (RKI) was minimum (1.35) in the above treatment and found significantly superior to rest of the treatments. Application of poultry manure @ 10 t/ha was also found effective in checking the root knot incidence (24.6%) with RKI of 1.79. Maximum incidence of 56.8% was recorded in untreated check. There was positive influence of treatments on plant height, leaf length and leaf width. Pooled analysis over the years revealed that the maximum yield of 1265 kg/ha was recorded in poultry manure alone which was statistically on par with poultry manure + carbofuran (1232 kg/ha). The minimum yield of 889 kg/ha was recorded in untreated control. The economic analysis revealed that mixed application of poultry manure + carbofuran recorded a B:C ratio of 1:13.30 followed by carbofuran 33kg/ha (1:12.62). Assessment of quality parameters revealed that poultry manure + carbofuran recorded 3.53 per cent nicotine, 5.46 per cent reducing sugar and 0.81 per cent chloride when compared with poultry manure alone (3.58% nicotine, 5.68% reducing sugar and 0.91% chloride). Thus, poultry manure + carbofuran 3G as spot application before transplanting was most effective in reducing the severity of root knot disease and economically viable alternative to poultry manure alone.