Efficacy of Organic Amendments and Bio-Agents for Management of Chickpea Wilt in Field Conditions
Abstract
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)is the second most important crop in the world after dry bean. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. A large number of diseases have been reported on chickpea among them wilt is caused by Fusarium oxysporumf. sp. ciceri. The evaluation of organic amendments viz., neem cake, castor cake and mustard cake and two bio-agent viz., Trichoderma viride and T. harzianum were selected for individual as well as with combination infield conditions. Percent disease incidence was recorded at 60, 90 DAS and at harvest. After 60 DAS, minimum PDI (09.01%) was recorded in neem cake (500 kg ha-1) + T. viride (2.5 kg ha-1) which was followed by neem cake (500 kg ha-1) + T. harzianum (2.5 kg ha-1) (13.09%). The same results were observed after 90 days of sowing and at harvest. In yield, the maximum yield (1407 kg ha-1) was noted in neem cake (500 kg ha-1) + T. viride (2.5 kg ha-1), whereas minimum yield (867 kg ha-1) in T. harzianum (2.5 kg ha-1).
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Introduction
Pulses are recognized as one of the most important sources of edible vegetable proteins, which are taken in the form of dal. Besides being a rich source of protein, they maintain soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation in soil and thus playa vital role in furthering sustainable agriculture (Kannaiyan, 1999). Among the pulse crops, Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)is the second most important crop in the world after dry bean. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. Chickpea seed contains 17-24 percent of protein, 61.2 percent carbohydrates, 9.8 percent moisture (Smartt, 1976) and essential amino acids like isoleucine, leusine, lysine, phenylalanine and valine (Karim and Fattah, 2006).
Global production of pulses is 60 MT. Globally India ranked first in pulses production. Area, production and productivity of chickpea in India are 31.03 million hectares, 27.69 MTand 892 kg ha-1 respectively. Among the states of India, Madhya Pradesh ranked first in area and production of chickpea followed by Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat (Anon., 2022a). In Gujarat, chickpea was grown in 11016 hectares, producing 21014 MTwith an average productivity of 1908 kg ha-1, which is high as compared to national average productivity (Anon., 2022b).
A large number of diseases have been reported on chickpea viz. fusarium wilt [Fusarium oxysporum Schlechtend.: Fr. f. sp. ciceri (Padwick) T. Matuo & K. Sato], black root rot [Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc.], dry root rot [Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goidanich], wet root rot [Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn] and collar rot [Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.] are of considerable importance (Nene et al., 1981). Among them, chickpea wilt complex is considered the most important, devastating and challenging one, being responsible for seed rot, seedling blight, root rot and mature plant wilt, culminating in 60-70 percent yield loss (Tewari and Mukhopadhyay, 2001) The disease complex observed first in the history caused by Fusarium and Meloidogyne species on cotton (Atkinson, 1892). Wilt complex caused by several soil-borne pathogens is the major yield reducing malady.
Chickpea wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporumf. sp. ciceri was first reported from India by Butler (1918). The mystery of the chickpea wilt complex was solved by Nene et al. (1979) in India and also developed multiple disease resistance screening techniques and disease-resistant varieties. The wilting pathogens are seed-borne (Haware et al., 1978; Pande et al., 2007) as well as soil-borne (Jimenez-Fernndez et al., 2011) in nature. The mycelium and chlamydospores can survive in seed and soil, and also infected crop residues, roots and stem tissue buried in the soil more than the six years in absence of host plant (Haware et al., 1986).
Conclusion
The study demonstrated that integrating organic amendments with bio-agents significantly reduces chickpea wilt incidence and enhances crop yield. Among the tested treatments, neem cake + T. viride was the most effective, achieving the lowest disease incidence and the highest yield under field conditions. This suggests that the combination of organic amendments and bio-control agents can serve as a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to managing chickpea wilt complex. Furthermore, these treatments not only improve plant health but also contribute to soil fertility by fostering beneficial microbial activity. Given the increasing concern over chemical pesticides and soil degradation, adopting such integrated disease management strategies can playa vital role in sustainable chickpea production. Future research should explore the long-term effects of these treatments on soil microbial diversity and crop productivity across different agro-climatic regions.
