ISSN 2375-1177
African Journal of Agriculture and Food Security ISSN 2375-1177 Vol. 7 (2), pp. 302-307, February, 2019. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Sensitivity of Alternaria alternata; cause of foliar and seedling blight disease of Cassia fistula in Pakistan to fungicides and biological control agents
Romana Anjum1, Safdar Ali2, Khizar Razzaq2, Wasima Kanwal3, Maryam Yousaf1,4, Muneeb Afzal1
1Department of Plant Pathology & Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.
2Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.
3Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan.
4 University College of Sargodha, Pakistan.
Accepted 24 October, 2018
Abstract
Foliar blight disease is caused by Alternaria alternata, cosmopolitan saprophyte in nature, considered a virulent pathogen in different crops. Pathogens cause foliar and seedling blight of Cassia fistula, which is an important ornamental and timber tree plant grown on sidewalk, roads. pathogen infection resulted in timber deterioration and reduce esthetic value of tree. So, it’s very important to develop a cost-effective strategy to control this disease either by chemical and biological agents to save the C. fistula trees. For this purpose, different fungicides viz; Mancozeb 75% WP, Carbendazim 50% WP, Thiophanate methyl 70% WP, Copper oxy 50% WP, Difenoconazole 25% EC and Propiconazole 25% EC and biological agents viz; Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Trichoderma harzianum were used in vitro against A. alternata. Results of this experiment demonstrated that Propiconazole 25% EC and Difenoconazole 25% EC were found statistically significant in reducing mycelial growth of A. alternata (71.5%, 72.7%, 73.9%, 72.1%, 72.1%, and 73.0%) after 3, 6 and 9 days of incubation at various concentrations. On the other hand, Trichoderma harzianum was found to be most successful in inhibition (76%) of this pathogen. Therefore, we concluded that Propiconazole 25% EC, Difenoconazole 25% EC and T. harzianum are effective in managing this pathogen responsible for foliar and seedling blight in Cassia fistula.
Keywords: Seedling blight, Foliar blight, Trichoderma harzianum,Propiconazole, Alternaria alternata, Cassia fistula.