Integrated Management of Stem and Root Rot of Sesame caused by Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an important oilseed crop known for its high-quality oil (48-55%) and nutritional value, making it a key agricultural commodity globally. However, its production is constrained by various biotic stresses, including fungal, bacterial and phytoplasmal diseases like Alternaria leaf spot, stem and root rot, powdery mildew, Cercospora leaf spot, bacterial blight and phyllody. Among these stem and root rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina attributes significant yield losses. This soil-borne, saprophytic pathogen affects all parts of the plant and is challenging to manage due to its ability to survive in the soil as sclerotia. Hence, the current investigation examined the effects of using botanicals, bioagents and fungicides to assess their effectiveness in disease management. Field experiments during Kharif 2024 demonstrated that soil application of T. harzianum enriched with Neem cake and FYM @ 1:20:250 kg/ha + seed treatment with T. harzianum @ 10g/kg of seeds followed by spray of (Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25 %) 75% WG @ 0.5g/l at 45, 60 and 90 DAS resulted in the lowest stem and root rot incidence (14.94 %) and highest yield (8.74q/ha) which was significantly superior to other scheduled combinations. The lowest yield of 3.42 q/ha and maximum stem and root rot incidence of 38.82 per cent was recorded in untreated control. Thus explore the integrated approaches for the management of diseases an experiment was conducted with different treatments against the control of M. phaseolina causing stem and root rot in sesame.