Integrated management of gladiolus wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. gladioli

For the integrated management of gladiolus Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. gladioli (Fog), six fungicides: Carbendazim, tabuconazole, blitox, aureofungin, mancozeb and Captan, and four botanicals-Azadirachtin, Garlic extract, Neem oil and Karanj oil, and two local isolates of biocontrol agents-Trichoderma harzianum and T. viride were evaluated in vitro and in various combinations in pots and field. Carbendazim inhibited the maximum 88.9% mycelial growth of Fog at 1000 ppm while azadirachtin effectively inhibited the growth of Fog (74.4%) at 0.2% concentration. The reduction in colony growth of Fog was observed (45.5%) by fungal bioagent T. harzianum. In pot and field experiments, combination of Carbendazim + T. harzianum + Azadirachtin as corm treatment was found most effective to manage the Fusarium wilt of gladiolus with maximum reduction in per cent mortality at 150 DAS (8.3% and 12.7% pot and field respectively). This has resulted highest c.f.u. of T. harzianum (82.8 × 10⁵ and 87.9 × 10⁵ c.f.u./g of soil) in corm treated with combination of Carbendazim + T. harzianum + Azadirachtin at corm lifting stage i.e. 150 DAS and seems quite feasible and economical for management of Fog in farmer's fields.