Biorational approach to manage the core rot disease incidence in kinnow fruits (Citrus deliciosa Ten.)

Kinnow (Citrus deliciosa Ten.) fruits are prone to attack by a variety of microorganisms that cause post-harvest fruit rotting. Core rot caused by Alternaria alternate (Fr.) Keissler (ID No. 6282.06 and ITCC No. 6129) is a destructive post-harvest disease of kinnow fruits causing nearly 15 per cent annual fruit loss in Sriganganagar (Rajasthan). Extracts of different medicinal and aromatic plants were evaluated against the pathogen (A. alternata) and their efficacy to control the rot incidence was explored. The extract of Lawsonia inermis proved significantly superior to check the mycelial growth of the pathogen, being 78.09 per cent followed by Eucalyptus amygdalina and Allium sativum which suppressed the growth by 57.22 and 52.65 per cent, respectively. The same trends of efficacy of these extracts were recorded against the rot incidence in pre- as well as post-inoculation treatments where L. inermis extract showed maximum reduction in rot incidence followed by E. amygdalina and A. sativum.