Evaluation of Botanicals against Fusarium pallidoroseum causing Wilt Disease in Chilli

With the increase in awareness about the ill effects of the indiscriminate use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture, the demand for safe and residue free food is increasing. In the present study, we evaluated aqueous extracts of willow (Salix alba L.) and cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera f. rosaceae) at different concentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20%) under in vitro conditions using poisoned food technique for their efficacy against Fusarium pallidoroseum causing wilt disease of chilli. The efficacy of the extracts was compared with synthetic fungicide, carbendazim 50 WP, which at 0.05% concentration resulted in 100% inhibition. Both the tested botanical extracts significantly inhibited mycelial growth at all the test concentrations with 100 per cent inhibition at 20% concentration. The present study showed that both the botanicals have the potential to be used against F. pallidoroseum.