Track 2-2-1: Plant Diseases, Insect Pests and Weed Management
Description
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.) is a warm season annual leguminous fodder crop. It is rich in protein and forms an excellent mixture with maize, sorghum, pearl millet and teosinte for increasing the milk production. The productivity of green fodder cowpea is approximately 25-45 t/ha in India. Pests and diseases hampers crop establishment, impair forage quality and reduces green fodder and seed yield. Besides causing direct yield losses they also suppress nodulation and consequently negating the maximum nitrogen fixation. The losses in green fodder and seed yields were estimated to be about 28.8 and 39.7 per cent, respectively (Ram and Gupta, 1988). Sometimes the pests and diseases are responsible for crop failure.
Control of plant diseases is essential for providing an adequate and quality supply of fodder. Attempts were made to prevent fodder crops from diseases even then, losses are occurring. Reducing such losses has long been a high priority objective for forage production. In order to develop an integrated disease management approach, it is essential to appraise the newer molecules of fungicides against causal organism along with bio-control agents for its efficacy. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the fungicides and bioagents against cowpea root rot pathogen (Rhizoctonia solani).
Included in
Integrated Disease Management of Root Rot Disease of Cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.)
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.) is a warm season annual leguminous fodder crop. It is rich in protein and forms an excellent mixture with maize, sorghum, pearl millet and teosinte for increasing the milk production. The productivity of green fodder cowpea is approximately 25-45 t/ha in India. Pests and diseases hampers crop establishment, impair forage quality and reduces green fodder and seed yield. Besides causing direct yield losses they also suppress nodulation and consequently negating the maximum nitrogen fixation. The losses in green fodder and seed yields were estimated to be about 28.8 and 39.7 per cent, respectively (Ram and Gupta, 1988). Sometimes the pests and diseases are responsible for crop failure.
Control of plant diseases is essential for providing an adequate and quality supply of fodder. Attempts were made to prevent fodder crops from diseases even then, losses are occurring. Reducing such losses has long been a high priority objective for forage production. In order to develop an integrated disease management approach, it is essential to appraise the newer molecules of fungicides against causal organism along with bio-control agents for its efficacy. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the fungicides and bioagents against cowpea root rot pathogen (Rhizoctonia solani).
