Track 2-2-1: Plant Diseases, Insect Pests and Weed Management
Description
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench.) is an important food, feed, fodder and fuel crop grown in India. It forms staple food for poor class of people living in the dry tracts of the country. The crop is mostly grown during Kharif and Rabi seasons in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states. It is also very popular as green forage in most parts of north India and nearly 2.5 million ha area is planted during kharif. In summer, under irrigated conditions, multicut sorghum is very popular. Forage sorghum is characterized by quick growth, high biomass accumulation, dry matter content and wide adaptability beside drought withstanding ability. It is also suitable for silage and hay making. The losses caused by diseases were estimated to be 12% (Frederiksen, 1986). With the change in climate, cropping pattern and with the introduction of high yielding varieties and hybrids of sorghum for cultivation, the disease scenario has also changed. Forage sorghum is suffered by charcoal rot, downy mildew, foliar diseases like zonate leaf spot, anthracnose and leaf blight. The disease is serious both in grain as well as fodder sorghum as it reduces yield and quality of fodder considerably. Disease resistance, cultural, biological and fungicides have been utilized to manage sorghum diseases (Frederiksen, 2000). The present study was undertaken to find out suitable management practice for foliar diseases of forage sorghum.
Included in
Management of Foliar Diseases of Forage Sorghum
Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench.) is an important food, feed, fodder and fuel crop grown in India. It forms staple food for poor class of people living in the dry tracts of the country. The crop is mostly grown during Kharif and Rabi seasons in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states. It is also very popular as green forage in most parts of north India and nearly 2.5 million ha area is planted during kharif. In summer, under irrigated conditions, multicut sorghum is very popular. Forage sorghum is characterized by quick growth, high biomass accumulation, dry matter content and wide adaptability beside drought withstanding ability. It is also suitable for silage and hay making. The losses caused by diseases were estimated to be 12% (Frederiksen, 1986). With the change in climate, cropping pattern and with the introduction of high yielding varieties and hybrids of sorghum for cultivation, the disease scenario has also changed. Forage sorghum is suffered by charcoal rot, downy mildew, foliar diseases like zonate leaf spot, anthracnose and leaf blight. The disease is serious both in grain as well as fodder sorghum as it reduces yield and quality of fodder considerably. Disease resistance, cultural, biological and fungicides have been utilized to manage sorghum diseases (Frederiksen, 2000). The present study was undertaken to find out suitable management practice for foliar diseases of forage sorghum.
