Management of Stem Rot of Rice (Sclerotium oryzae) using Fungicides and Biocontrol Agents

Among the fungal diseases, stem rot of rice caused by Sclerotium oryzae, is becoming a serious problem infecting almost all the cultivated varieties of Manipur. It was evident that plots sprayed with fungicide showed the least (38.0%) per cent disease index (PDI) followed by plots sprayed with Penicillium citrinum (44.1%) and Trichoderma harzianum (44.9%). However, the maximum PDI was recorded from plots sprayed with Trichoderma viride (46.7%). The efficacy of T. harzianum and P. citrinum was at par against the PDI of stem rot of rice. Maximum grain yield (5.29 t/ha) was recorded from plots sprayed with Tricyclazole @ 0.1% followed by plots sprayed with P. citrinum (4.82 t/ha), T. harzianum (4.69 t/ha), Trichoderma hamatum (4.51 t/ha). The least grain yield was recorded from plots sprayed with T. viride (4.41 t/ha).