Plant Disease Research

An experiment was conducted to find out the effective treatment for integrated management of banded leaf and sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn in proso millet during Kharif and Rabi, 2021-2022 at Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram. In vitro studies of bioagents revealed that fungal bioagent, Trichoderma asperellum found most effective in supressing the mycelial growth (22.75 mm) with maximum per cent of inhibition (71.56 %). Similarly, in vitro evaluation of fungicides revealed that tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin 75 WG was found to be superior of the two fungicides in inhibiting the pathogen with 100, 83.44 and 64.38 per cent inhibition at 100, 50 and 25 per cent of recommended dosages. Field experiments during Kharif and Rabi, 2021-22 revealed that tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin offered greater protection against BLSB by reducing its disease severity with lowest PDI (15.55 % and 12.5 %) and highest grain (1359.77 and 1450.30 kg ha⁻¹) and fodder (3294.50 and 3401.93 kg ha⁻¹) yields in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, respectively. Screening of 25 proso millet genotypes revealed that none of the genotypes was immune or highly resistant. All the varieties were susceptible however, seven genotypes were moderately resistant, 12 were susceptible and six were highly susceptible.