TNAU Agritech Portal
Home | About Us | Success Stories | Farmers Association | Farmers' Innovation | Publications | Contact

Agricultural crops :: Cereals :: Maize
Charcoal rot: Macrophomina phaseolina         

Symptoms:

  • Plants exhibit wilting symptoms
  • Plants mature, the fungus spreads into the lower internodes of the stalk
  • Causing premature ripening, shredding and breaking at the crown region
  • Stalk of infected plants are with greyish streak
  • The pith becomes shredded and greyish black minute sclerotia develop on the vascular bundles
  • Shredding of the interior of the stalk often causes stalks to break at crown
Shredding of Stalk

Pathogen

  • Fungus produces round or globular to irregular and black sclerotia
  • Pycnidia appear on the stalks. Pycndiospores are colourless, oval and single celled

Favourable Conditions

  • Dry and hot weather during and after flowering favours the disease.
  • Soil temperature 30 - 42°C, low soil moisture and low soil pH (5.4 - 6.0) .

Survival and Mode of Spread

  • Primary spread – Sclerotia in infected crop and debris in soil.
  • Secondary spread – Wind-borne pycnidiospores.

Management

  • Follow crop rotation
  • Avoidance of water stress at flowering time reduced disease incidence
  • Avoid nutrient stress.
  • Apply potash @ 80 kg/ha in endemic areas
  • Soil application of   P. fluorescens (or) T. viride @ 2.5 kg / ha + 50 kg of well decomposed FYM (mix 10 days before application) or sand at 30 days after sowing
 

Home | About Us | Success Stories | Farmers Association | Publications | Disclaimer | Contact Us

© TNAU 2008-2024 All Rights Reserved.