FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT OF COLLAR ROT OF GRAM (CICER-ARIETINUM) CAUSED BY SCLEROTIUM-ROLFSII

An experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) and winter (rabi) seasons of 1990-91 to study the effect of inoculum load, types of soil, seedling age and fungal antagonists on the incidence of collar rot of gram or chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. An increase in inoculum load of the pathogen increased the disease incidence. The mortality of seedings was the highest (94%) in clay soil. The disease developed faster in younger than in older seedlings. Conidial coating of the antagonists, viz Trichoderma viride Pers. ex Gray, Trichoderma harzianum Rifai and Gliocladium roseum (Link) Bain, on seeds reduced the seedling mortality (47-65%) significantly compared with the uncoated control.