Occurrence and severity of powdery mildew fungal disease on the plants of asteraceae and cucurbitaceae in Kashmir valley

In Kashmir powdery mildew fungi are known to cause severe losses to plants of economic importance. However, little attention have been paid towards the occurence and severity of powdery mildew fungal disease on the plants of Asteraceae and Cucurbitaceae in all parts of Kashmir including District Baramulla and Kupwara. Therefore, present study was undertaken to observe the incidence and severity of powdery mildew fungi on the plants of Asteraceae and Cucurbitaceae in District Baramulla and Kupwara. It was observed on the basis of anamorph and teleomorph characters that plants of Asteraceae were infected with Powdery mildew fungi, Erysiphe cichoraceareum and Sphaerotheca fuliginea whereas, plants of Cucurbitaceae were infected with Powdery mildew fungus, Sphaerotheca fUliginea. The incidence and severity of powdery mildew fungi was mild, moderate to severe on all the tested plants surveyed during the study in different localities of District Baramulla and Kupwara, respectively. The variation in the incidence and severity on powdery mildew fungi in different seasons was also recorded. On the plants bf Asteraceae, the lowest incidence of powdery mildew infection was found in early spring and maximum incidence was found in sumlller season. In case of plants of Cucurbitaceae, the maximum incidence was found in Autumn season as compared to summer season.