Efficacy of Micro-Nutrients, Fungicides and Bio-Agents against Sclerotinia Stem Rot (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) of Indian Mustard

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a broad range fungal pathogen which attacks more than 500 species of higher plants (Boland and Hall, 1994; Saharan and Mehta, 2008; Sharma et al.,, 2015a). The pathogen can cause serious losses in yield and quality on numerous important field and vegetable crops (Purdy, 1979). Stem rot of Indian mustard caused by S. sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary has become important in recent years in India and elsewhere with high disease and severe yield losses (Ghasolia et al., 2004; Sharma et al., 2017). Management of S. sclerotiorum is a major challenge faced by plant pathologists. Management is difficult, uneconomical and inconsistent due to the presence of wide host range and long-term survival of the resting sclerotia. Numerous reports indicate that amendment of soil with certain organic or inorganic matters is effective in controlling soil borne pathogens. Soil amendment with mustard cake, sesame International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 10 (2017) pp. 620-626 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com