Studies on management of foliar diseases in onion (Allium cepa L.)

457 Onion (Allium cepa L.) is an important export oriented vegetable among the cultivated allium in India. It is also known as “queen of kitchen”. Productivity of onion is affected by many biotic and abiotic stresses. For commercial cultivation of onion, both thrips and foliar diseases play the key role in reducing the bulb yield and quality of produce. Among the various foliar diseases affecting leaves and bulbs, purple blotch incited by Alternaria porri (ciferri), and thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindeman) among the insects are the most devastating and prevalent in many parts of India (Gupta et al.,2011), including in Odisha. This is more important due to change in climatic conditions during the growing season. The onion thrips (T. tabiaci) can indirectly aggravate purple blotch and vector for viral diseases, iris yellow spot as well (Kumar et al, 2011). Hence, there is an immense need to develop proper integrated management practice to contain onion pests (onion thrips) and diseases, particularly purple blotch in order to produce higher yield with better quality bulbs. The present study was therefore, conducted to study the management of foliar diseases in onion. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was carried out under All India Network Research Project on Onion and Garlic, College of Horticulture (OUAT), Sambalpur, Odisha, India during the rabi season of 2010-11 and 2011-12 in RBD with six treatments replicated four times. The details of treatments are presented in table 1. Studies on management of foliar diseases in onion (Allium cepa L.)