Plant Disease Research

Coconut is an important plantation crop grown in India for its multipurpose use. Among the several diseases of coconut, recently emerging leaf blight caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is one of the major diseases causing significant yield losses of 10–25 per cent. For its management, different fungicides were evaluated against L. theobromae under in vitro and in vivo conditions. In vitro screening of fungicides against mycelial growth and spore germination was conducted to access the efficacy of fifteen fungicides. Among the fifteen different fungicides, only three viz., carbendazim 50% WP, propiconazole 25% EC and tebuconazole 50% + trifloxystrobin 25% WG were found to be effective against L. theobromae under in vitro. The results of the field trial indicated that among the different fungicides tested, root feeding with carbendazim 50%WP @ 10g in 100 ml water recorded disease reduction up to 20.72% in both locations.