Chemical Management of Wilt Complex Disease of Chilli

Results of studies on wilt complex disease of chilli (Capsicum annum L.) conducted to know the present status of the disease, associated causal organism and effective fungitoxicants to manage the disease, are reported. Survey conducted during August, 2017 in district Srinagar and Budgam of Kashmir (J&K) revealed the prevalence of the disease in all the surveyed locations with levels of incidence ranging from 12.66 to 28.00 per cent. The pathogens associated with the disease were identified as Fusarium pallidoroseum (Cooke) Sacc. and Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. on the basis of their morphological and pathological characteristics. The most prevalent pathogen associated with the disease was F. pallidoroseum with isolation frequency of 77.08 per cent, whereas, isolation frequency of S. rolfsii and F. pallidoroseum + S. rolfsii was 15.42 and 7.50 per cent respectively. The pathogens on artificial inoculation produced the characteristic wilt like symptoms which included yellowish discoloration of leaves followed by their shrivelling, drooping and finally death of the whole plant. Among the fungitoxicants tested under in vitro conditions, carbendazim (25%) + flusilazole (12.5%) 37.5 SC exhibited maximum mycelia growth inhibition of both the tested pathogenic fungi and was also effective against chilli wilt disease in pot experiment.