African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 2(10), pp. 538-543, October, 2007

ISSN 1991- 637X­© 2007 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Leaf blight of Azadirachta indica and its management in vitro

A. Bhanumathi and V. Ravishankar Rai^*

Department of Studies in Applied Botany and Biotechnology, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore – 570 006. Karnataka, India.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: rrai33@hotmail.com

Accepted 27 August, 2007

Leaf blight, a moderate to severe foliar disease of Azadirachta indica was caused by Colletotrichum dematium and Fusarium solani. Previously F. solani was reported on A.  indica but the presence of C. dematium is a new document.  F. solani was highly virulent against seedlings of A. indica compared to C. dematium in seeds subjected to top of the paper method. In vitro management of these pathogens using Poison Food Technique suggested that of the seven fungicides tested at 50, 100 and 150 ppm concentrations, 100% growth inhibition was recorded in all the three concentrations of ContafPlus and Tilt against C. dematium whereas in F. solani all the three concentrations of Bavistin inhibited the growth of mycelial colony in the range of 88.54 - 86.32%. However, in both C. dematium and F. solani 50 ppm Blitox showed least inhibition.

Key words: Azadirachta indica, Colletotrichum dematium, Fusarium solani, Poison Food Technique.