Bio-Fungicides Efficacy Evaluation against Colletotrichum Falcatum Causing Red Rot of Sugarcane

Abstract

Sugarcane is an economically important crop commercially cultivated worldwide owing to huge nutritional and medicinal purposes. Annual sugarcane yield in Pakistan is rapidly minimizing due to attack of various fungal rots. To combat these threatening losses, present study was designed intensively to screen the substantial efficacy of selected systemic fungicides against red rot of sugarcane. Morphological studies of isolated fungal rot from sugarcane crop, identified causal agent as C. falcatum. Two selective fungicides viz Mancozeb and Nativo along with three different concentrations i.e., (60, 80 and 100 ppm) were evaluated invitro. Nativo was most effective fungicides 92.31% in inhibiting mycelial growth of C. falcatum following poisoned food technique. The results showed that both applied fungicides significantly affect against red rot of sugarcane, whereas no mycelial growth inhibition was recorded in control treatment. It is therefore, recommended that timely application of systemic fungicides may enhance crop yield by minimizing effect of phytopathogenic fungal rots.