Biological Management of Root Rot (Rhizoctonia solani) of Clusterbean in Rajasthan

Abstract

Background: Clusterbean is an important legume crop in arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. It provides livelihood security to arid zone farmers. Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and root rot are two important diseases of clusterbean which limits its production and productivity. Although, management of these diseases are possible through fungicides. However, in present study focus on use of bio-agents which are friendly to the environment.Methods: Field experiment was conducted at ARS, SKRAU, Bikaner, Rajasthan during three consecutive kharif seasons of 2017 to 2019. The experiment was conducted on cv. RGC-1033 with six different combination of Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens bio- agents viz, seed treatment, soil treatment and their combinations against the root rot disease and compared with an untreated control.Conclusion: Seed treatment with a combination of T. harzianum + P. fluorescens (4+4 g/kg seed) along with soil application of T. harzianum + P. fluorescens (1.25 +1.25 kg in 50 kg FYM for each/ha) was an effective treatment which reduced root rot incidence and increased seed yield under field conditions. It can be recommended to the cultivators of clusterbean for enhancing yield.