Management of Sclerotium rolfsii causing basal rot of Piper longum through organic approaches

Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc causes serious yield loss of Pippali (Piper longum Linn.). Catkin, the fruit of Pippali is directly used in medicinal industry so, use of chemical fungicides is not encourages for the cultivation of Pippali. The present study was carried out to bring orgnaic management strategy of the crop. Six native isolates of fungal and bacterial antagonists were tested against S. rolfsii and found T. harzianum was found as the best agents. In in vitro studies, sclerotial production was found drastically reduced when exposed to biocontrol agents. Result on field experiment showed that soil application of mustard oil cake (MOC) @ 1 kg/2X2 m2 plot fortified with T. harzianum @ 5 ml/m2 found effective in managing the basal rot with disease reduction upto 10.65% with increased plant growth parameters. This was followed by soil application of T. harzianum @ 5 ml/m2 with disease incidence of 14.98%. © 2021, Indian Phytopathological Society.