Management of collar rot in groundnut in coastal Sandy soils of Andhra Pradesh

This study investigated the efficacy of Integrated Disease Management (IDM) compared to Farmer's Practices (FP) for controlling collar rot disease in groundnut cultivated on coastal sandy soils in the Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India. A survey in the rabi season (2019-2020) revealed significant variation in disease incidence across locations, with factors like previous crop and seed treatment influencing severity. Seed treatment with carbendazim or mancozeb significantly reduced disease compared to untreated plots. Locations with watermelon as the previous crop and those lacking organic amendments like FYM exhibited higher disease incidence. A field experiment evaluated IDM practices consisting of seed and seedling protection with fungicide (Tebuconazole @ 1g/Kg), soil application of biocontrol agent (FYM enriched with Trcihoderma asperellum) and need based in situ fungicidal application (hexaconazole @ 2ml/L) and farmer's practices treatments on disease incidence at 10, 20, and 30 days after sowing (DAS). IDM consistently resulted lower disease incidence at all stages compared to FP. At 10 DAS, IDM showed a 2.46% disease incidence compared to 10.04% for FP (p < 0.05). This trend continued at 20 DAS (5.87% vs 17.64%, p < 0.05) and 30 DAS (6.64% vs 24.35%, p < 0.05). These findings suggested that IDM practices effectively suppress collar rot development, possibly through a combination of cultural, chemical, and biological control measures.