Plant Disease Research

Mungbean is a short duration crop that can tolerate dryland conditions and is cultivated in different seasons, viz., kharif and rabi/summer in India. For the last several years, Pod rot disease caused by Fusarium equiseti and Fusarium chlamydosporum, has emerged as a significant bottleneck in the seed production of mungbean. Extensive surveys of major mungbean growing areas located in districts of Punjab were conducted during the years 20172018 in August-October to know the prevalence of disease in Punjab. The disease occurrence was found in varying proportions on different cultivars. Among seven districts surveyed, maximum disease incidence of 55.59% was found in the Ludhiana followed by Gurdaspur (53.91%). Maximum disease severity of 23.57% was also found in Ludhiana, followed by 22.60% in Gurdaspur. Minimum disease severity of 7.07% was found in the Moga district. Among the different locations, KVK Kapurthala and Research Field, Pulse Section, PAU, Ludhiana, had the highest incidence (>80%) and severity (>50%) of pod rot disease. The results suggest that pod rot disease is widely prevalent and a significant challenge for mungbean crop in Punjab.