Integration of soil solarization with soil amendments for the management of Fusarium wilt of carnation

Wilt of carnation caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi is the most damaging disease resulting in 22 to 64 per cent mortality in different locations in Himachal Pradesh. Soil solarization has been found an effective method for the management of soil-borne diseases. The method has been found more effective when integrated with soil amendments. Five soil amendments viz., neem cake (Azadirachta indica), darek seeds (Melia azedarach), karu leaves (Roylea elegans), cabbage leaves (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) and neem granules were applied before soil solarization. Leaves of cabbage proved to be most effective and reduced the mycelial growth of the wilt pathogen to 11.0 mm in comparison to 53.33 mm in control (soil solarization alone) when the Petri plates were subjected to the treatment of soil solarization with polyethylene mulch. Soil solarization with transparent polyethylene sheet (25 µ thick) and biodegradable plastic sheet (25 µ thick) for 40 days resulted in an increase of 5.6 and 3.0°C in average maximum soil temperature, respectively at 5 cm soil depth in comparison to unsolarized soil in the polyhouse. Soil amendment with seed meal of darek and neem granules were found most effective and statistically at par in reducing the incidence of carnation wilt to 17.33 and 20.0 per cent, respectively in comparison to 41.33 per cent in control. Integration of soil solarization with cabbage leaves was found most effective with 96.16 per cent reduction in the disease incidence and also recorded maximum increase of 53.87, 51.34, 60.38, 38.36 per cent in plant height, number of flowers per plant, stem length and flower size, respectively and also recorded 15.20 and 48.51 per cent less days to 1^st flowering and flowering period, respectively in comparison to unsolarized control.