Efficacy of Natural Farming Inputs, Botanicals and Bio Agents against Foot Rot Disease of Finger Millet Caused by Sclerotium rolfsii

Abstract

An in vitro study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of natural farming inputs, botanicals, and bio-agents against Sclerotium rolfsii using the poisoned food technique at varying concentrations (3%, 5%, and 10%). Among the natural farming inputs, Shuntiastra at 10% concentration exhibited complete (100%) inhibition of the pathogen, followed by Jeevamruta with 90.78% inhibition against Sclerotium rolfsii. Among botanicals Neem leaf extract and Pongamia leaf extract at higher concentration of 10 per cent recorded 100 per cent inhibition of the pathogen. However the combination of leaf extracts viz., Neem, Pongamia, Yekka, Tulsi and cow urine at 5 per cent also showed 100 per cent inhibition of the pathogen. Among the bio agents, Trichoderma spp. showed 72.11 per cent inhibition over control. A subsequent pot culture study under greenhouse conditions revealed that seedling treatment and soil drenching with Mancozeb 75 WP @ 0.25% recorded the lowest percent disease index (PDI) with no wilting symptoms. This was followed by seedling treatment and drenching with Trichoderma spp. @ 5%, which also demonstrated effective management of finger millet foot rot. The study highlights the potential of integrating natural inputs and biocontrol agents for sustainable disease management in finger millet.