Efficacy of Fungicides Against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Causing Stem End Rot of Fruit Drop in Mandarin

Typical mandarin fungal preharvest fruit drop disease specimens were collected from the university campus and brought to the laboratory, where pathogens were isolated using the tissue segment method. The pathogenicity test was conducted following the Koch’s postulates. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were identified as the isolates based on symptoms, cultural, morphological, and pathogenicity test. To identify effective chemical fungicides for management of fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides present study was undertaken in laboratory. The poison food technique was used to assess the efficiency of sixteen different chemical fungicides against C. gloeosporioides. Combi fungicides viz. Azoxystrobin 11% + Tebuconazole 18.3%, Captan 70% + Hexaconazole 5%, Azoxystrobin 18.2% + Difenoconazole 11.4%, Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25%, and Flusilazole 12.5% + Carbendazim 25% were the most effective chemical fungicides at both half dose and recommended doses inhibited 100% mycelial growth over other tested fungicides. Novel combination fungicides with systemic and contact actions could be used to effectively limit C. gloeosporioides growth in mandarin.