Management of Stemphylium Blight of Garlic (Allium sativum) by Botanicals

Stemphylium blight is an economically important disease of garlic causing significant reduction in crop yield. Usually, the management tactics relies on the use of synthetic chemicals. So, in this context, an eco-friendly approach was followed by using botanicals for controlling the disease. The antifungal effects of aqueous extracts were tested under in vitro and in vivo conditions. The fungitoxic activity of these botanicals was compared with the standard check (mancozeb 75 WP). The maximum colony growth inhibition was shown by mancozeb (62.4%), neem oil (43.3%) followed by neem extract (28.8%), aak (23.8%) and lantana (22.9%). The maximum spore germination inhibition was shown by mancozeb (56.6%), neem oil (40.2%) followed by neem extract (24.7%) and lantana (19.9%). The lowest disease severity was recorded in plants sprayed with mancozeb 75WP (14.8%) followed by the neem oil (34.8%) under in vivo conditions. The study revealed that neem oil can be a good candidate for managing this disease for avoiding the harmful effects of synthetic chemicals.