Fungicidal management of multiple diseases in wheat

Leaf rust (Puccinia recondita tirtici), yellow rust (P. striiformis) and powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis tritici) take a heavy toll of the wheat crop. Cultivation of resistant varieties is practically feasible, economically viable and environmental friendly mean to manage these diseases. However, resistant varieties become susceptible after a short period of their commercial exploitation and fungicidal management is an essential alternative. Hence, nine fungicides were evaluated for the management of these diseases. Bayleton 25EC and tilt 25EC @ 0.1% and contaf 5EC @ 0.2% resulted in significantly less leaf rust and yellow rust severity compared to no spray check. The least leaf rust and yellow rust severity of 7.3 and 9.7% was recorded in two sprays of bayleton 25EC and tilt 25EC, respectively, with corresponding disease control of 98.5 and 95.1%, respectively. The fungitoxicants resulted in significantly more yield during both the years as compared to the no spray check. The highest mean yield (49.7 q/ha) was recorded in two sprays of tilt 25EC followed by contaf 5EC (45.6q/ha) with corresponding 65.7 and 52.0% increase, over the check. Spray schedule of bayleton 25EC and tilt 25EC @0.1% and contaf 5EC @ 0.2% as one and two sprays showed that the least mean leaf rust, yellow rust and powdery mildew severity of 28.15, 3.70 and 0.19%, was recorded in two sprays of bayleton 25EC. All the fungicides resulted in significantly more yield compared with check (i.e. 30.5 and 27.7 q/ha, respectively during the year 2001–2002 and 2002–03, respectively. Foliar application of fungicides as 1 and 2 sprays resulted in net profit of Rs. 1254-17025 with corresponding cost: benefit ratio of 1:3.2 - 1:8.2, respectively. Two sprays of bayleton 25EC resulted in the highest net return of Rs. 17025 followed by tilt 25E and contaf 5EC with corresponding cost:benefit ratio of 1:7.7, 1: 5.4 and 1: 5.3, respectively.