Management of Turmeric Rhizome Rot Using Eco-Friendly Biocontrol Consortia

Rhizome rot incited by Pythium aphanidermatum is the destructive disease causing considerable damage and reduces yield and quality of rhizomes. Use of antagonistic microbes to manage the diseases replaces the chemicals and protects the environment from toxic hazards. A field trial was conducted to test the efficacy of biocontrol agents against rhizome rot of turmeric during kharif 2004-05 to 2006-07. The results revealed that the biocontrol agents application reduced the disease incidence compared to control. The pooled analysis from 2004-05 to 2006-07, indicated that T7 treatment with seed and soil application of consortia of Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas flourescens @ 4g kg -1 of seed and 2.5kg ha -1 as basal and top dressing at 150 days after planting was found to be effective which recorded the least disease incidence of 0.79% with the maximum yield of 60.19 t ha -1 . The same treatment also recorded the maximum Cost-benefit ratio of 1: 3.3. The control plots recorded the disease incidence of 27.22% with an yield of 29.57 t ha -1 .