Management of seed and soil borne diseases of safflower

A field Rabi trial was carried out in Parbhani to validate the technology for managing soil-borne and seed-borne safflower diseases. The purpose of the trial was to compare farmer practices with the Trichoderma strain (Th4d) used as a seed dresser. Before seed was sown, it was treated with the fungicides Carbendazim 12 % + Mancozeb 63 % @ 0.2 % and Trichoderma harzianum. In comparison to farmers’ practices, where the disease incidence was 11.3 %, the seed treatments Trichoderma harzianum Th4d SC @ 2ml/kg and Trichoderma harzianum Th4d WP @ 10g/kg were found to be the most effective, with much lower incidence of seed/soil transmitted disease at 5.3%.The highest seed yields (1034 kg/ha and 1055 kg/ha) were likewise reported by the treatments Trichoderma harzianum Th4d SC @2ml/kg and Trichoderma harzianum Th4d WP @10g/kg, which were followed by Carbendazim 12% + Mancozeb 63% @ 0.2% (977 kg/ha), while farmer practice produced the lowest yields (815 kg/ha).According to the cost-benefit analysis, the seed treatment with Carbendazim 12% + Mancozeb 63% @ 0.2% (Rs. 14,080/-,1.60) and Trichoderma harzianum Th4d WP @ 10 g/kg produced the highest net monetary returns, at Rs. 16,700/-1.60.Conversely, the farmer practice had the lowest net financial returns, coming in at Rs. 8,600, and the lowest B:C ratio, 1.40.