Chemical Science Review and Letters ISSN 2278-6783 Research Article Integrated Management of Fungal Diseases in Strawberry Ali Anwar, Mudasir Bhat*, Ghulam Hassan Mir, M. Najeeb Mughal, Uzma Fayaz and Arif Hussain Bhat Division of Plant Pathology SKUAST-K, Shalimar, 190025 Abstract An experimental trial with eight treatments viz. carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%), hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%), mancozeb 75 WP (0.3%) cultural control (removal of older leaves + weeding), aqueous extracts of datura leaves, extract of garlic cloves, mulching (polythene) and check (without treatment) in RBD manner was carried out in Research Farm of SKUAST-K. Treatments were replicated thrice. The data on individual effect of treatments revealed that five diseases viz. root rot (Pythium sp. Rhizoctonia solani), fruit rot (Botrytis cineria), Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria alternata), leaf spot (Hainesia lythri) and foliage blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) were noticed in variable per cent disease index (PDI), whereas, fruit rot caused by Botrytis cineria did not appear in beds where three sprays of carbendazim, mancozeb and hexaconazole were given after 15 days interval but mulching with polyethylene in the month of June also gave excellent result and no fruit rot incidence was observed. Minimum root rot (0.23%) was recorded when carbendazim was sprayed than that of other treatments. Cultural practices comprised with removal of basal leaves and weeding had profound effect after the fungicidal sprays. In case of Alternaria leaf blight, spray of the crop with hexaconazole reduced its incidence and recorded minimum PDI (2.67) than other treatments but cultural practices and extract of garlic cloves exhibited almost at par effect against Alternaria leaf blight. Among the major diseases, leaf spot caused by Hainesia lythri was significantly checked by all the treatments and minimum leaf spot was recorded when crop was treated with carbendazim and hexaconazole followed by cultural practices (5.67) but effects of extracts and mulching had at par effect. Despite, foliage blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii also occurred on vines, blossom and leaves of crop in variable PDI whereas minimum PDI (2.33) was noticed when crop was sprayed with hexaconazole but cultural practices and mulching showed at par effect (7.33). Similarly, maximum fruits weight was computed in carbendazim followed by hexaconazole while as other treatments also gave significant fruit yield over control. Keywords: Strawberry, Diseases, Management, Cultural practices, Fungicides *Correspondence Author: Mudasir Bhat Email: mudasirpatho@gmail.com Introduction Strawberry (Fragariae ananassa Duch.) is a perennial economically important crop, grown under a wide range of climatic conditions. Wild and cultivated plants are producing small sized fruits with high nutrient value [1] and were also used as remedy for many human diseases like kidney and liver diseases. It is one of the most widely grown small fruit crops in Kashmir. They are highly perishable fruits due to their extreme tenderness, vulnerability to mechanical damage, high level of respiration and their susceptibility to fungal spoilage [2]. Fresh strawberries therefore have a very limited postharvest life and cannot be stored for a long time [3]. Strawberry cultivars are highly susceptible to several destructive and economically important pathogens such as Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum acutatum, C. gloeosporioides C. fragariae, Rhizopus nigricans, Phytopthora paracitica, P. cactonum, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium solani, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium expansum [4]. Disease control depends on the correct pathogen identification, the use of pathogen-free transplants, control of fungi and sanitation measurements. Soil-borne pathogens may be controlled by soil disinfestation with systemic fungicides. Application of control measures must be based on the knowledge of disease etiology, epidemiology and on cognizance of the pathogen life cycle. Strawberry growers rely heavily on the use of fungicides for control of various diseases in strawberries. However the frequent and discriminate use of fungicides leads to atmosphere pollution and create imbalance in the microbial community, which may be unfavorable to the activity of beneficial organisms and may lead to development of resistance strains of the pathogen [5]. Resistance cultivars have been used against many diseases of strawberry but it has been overcome by appearance of new races of the pathogen [6]. In recent years biological control has become a promising safer and ecologically acceptable alternative to chemical control in the management of soil borne diseases [7]. Therefore integrated disease management methods were utilized in the production of diseases free strawberries. Chem Sci Rev Lett 2018, 7(25), 233-236 Article CS052049012 233 Chemical Science Review and Letters ISSN 2278-6783 Materials and Methods An experimental trial with most effective four treatments and their different combinations viz. (T1) carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%), (T2) hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%), (T3) cultural control (removal of older leaves + weeding), (T 4) mulching (polythene), (T5) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) (T 6) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Cultural practices, (T7) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Mulching (polythene), (T8) Hexaconazole 5EC @0.03% + Cultural practices, (T9) Hexaconazole 5EC @0.03% + Mulching (polythene), (T10) Cultural practices + Mulching, (T11) Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices, (T12) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Mulching, (T 13)Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene), (T14) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene), (T15) Carbendazim 50WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene) and check (without treatment) in RBD manner was carried out in Research Farm of Plant Pathology at Shalimar Campus. Treatments were replicated thrice. Healthy plants of Confituria cultivar of 2 feet long with three folds were already planted with 45 cm apart on 15 cm raised bed size of 2 x 2 m2. Fifty leaves selected at random from each treatment were observed on 0-5 scale and per cent disease index (PDI) was worked out [8]. Fruit yield was also recorded and analyzed statistically. Results and Discussion During preliminary studies on individual effect of eight treatments revealed that five diseases viz. root rot (Pythium sp., Rhizoctonia solani), fruit rot (Botrytis cineria), Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria alternata), leaf spot (Hainesia lythri) and foliage blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) were noticed in variable per cent disease index (PDI), whereas, fruit rot caused by Botrytis cineria did not appear in beds where three sprays of carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%), mancozeb 75 WP (0.3%), hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) were given after 15 days interval but mulching with polyethylene in the month of June also gave excellent results and no fruit rot incidence was observed (Table 1). Most effective four treatments and their different combinations revealed that five diseases viz. root rot (Pythium sp. Rhizoctonia solani), fruit rot (Botrytis cineria), Alternaria leaf blight (Alternaria alternata), leaf spot (Hainesia lythri) and foliage blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) were noticed in variable per cent disease index (PDI), whereas, fruit rot caused by Botrytis cineria did not appear in beds where three sprays of carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%), hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) were given after 15 days interval but mulching with polyethylene in the month of June also gave excellent result and no fruit rot incidence was observed. Minimum root rot (0.25%) was recorded when combination of all the treatments (T 15) was followed than that of other treatments. Cultural practices comprised with removal of basal leaves and weeding had consistent and profound effect after the fungicidal sprays. In case of Alternaria leaf blight, spray of the crop with hexaconazole 5 EC significantly reduced its incidence and recorded PDI as 3.00 than other treatments but it was at par (2.80) when cultural practices and alternative sprays of carbendazim comprised separately. Among the major diseases, leaf spot caused by Hainesia lythri was significantly checked by all the treatments and minimum intensity (1.86) was recorded when crop was treated with combination of carbendazim, hexaconazole, cultural practices and mulching. Fruit rot caused by B. cineria was checked when polyethylene mulch was made in the bed during the month of May. Despite, foliage blight caused by Sclerotium rolfsii also occurred on vines, blossom and leaves of crop in variable PDI whereas minimum PDI was noticed when crop was sprayed with hexaconazole and with the combination of other treatments but cultural practices and mulching shown at par effect (1.62), similarly maximum fruit weight was also computed in hexaconazole + cultural practices + mulching with polyethylene (330.00) followed by hexaconazole + carbendazim + cultural practices + mulching with polyethylene (328.00) while as other treatments also gave significant fruit yield over control. Rotation was one of the first management tactics suggested for root rot of strawberry [9]. Rotation away from strawberry to unspecified crops reduced R. fragariae isolation from plants to about one third of that seen from continuous strawberry production [10]. Trichoderma harzianum (Root Shield) has been an effective biological control of a number of fungi, including Rhizoctonia spp. [11]. Oat and sorghum have been shown to produce fungicidal root exudates toxic to soil-borne fungi such as Fusarium and Gaumannomyces [12]. In the Pacific Northwest, soil solarisation for two months significantly reduced strawberry root necrosis and root infection by a number of fungi, including R. fragariae [13]. However, solarisation did not eliminate the pathogens from the soil. [14] Observed that fruit rot of pomegranate caused by Alternaria alternata is one of the most important post harvest diseases. It was revealed that 13 homoeopathic drugs were inhibitory against A. alternata, out of which Arsenicum album, Argentum metallicum was highly effective followed by Zincum metallicum, Baptisia tinctoria, Belladonna, Tabacum, Lycopodium clavatum, Thuja occidentale, Cyanopodium, Ustilago maydis, Sepia officinale and Iris versicolar in decreasing Percentage Control Efficacy (PCE) values against A. alternata. [15] also revealed the control of grey Chem Sci Rev Lett 2018, 7(25), 233-236 Article CS052049012 234 Chemical Science Review and Letters ISSN 2278-6783 mould of grape caused by Botrytis cinerea using homoeopathic drug. Integrated management of strawberry pests by rotation and intercropping using Saia‟ oats and sorgho-sudan grass has been suggested [16]. Treatment T1 = Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) T2 = Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) T3= Cultural practices (removal of basal leaves + weeding) T4= Mulching (polythene) T5= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5EC (0.03%) T6= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Cultural practices T7= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Mulching polythene) T8 = Hexaconazole 5EC @0.03% + Cultural practices T9 = Hexaconazole 5EC @0.03% + Mulching (polythene) T10= Cultural practices + Mulching T11= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices T12= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Mulching T13= Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene) T14= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene) T15= Carbendazim 50 WP (0.05%) + Hexaconazole 5 EC (0.03%) + Cultural practices + Mulching (polythene) Check/ control CD (P=0.05) Table 1 Management of fungal diseases in strawberry Root rot Per cent disease index (PDI) incidence % Fruit rot Alternaria leaf Leaf spot (Pythium sp. (Botrytis blight (Alternaria (Hainesia R. solani) cineria) alternata) lythri) 0.53 0.25 6.00 3.15 Foliage blight (S. rolfsii) 4.78 Fruit yield/ bed (gm) 265.00 3.15 0.15 3.00 2.90 2.00 280.00 6.00 1.50 6.90 6.00 8.20 240.00 7.00 0.40 0.00 0.18 7.50 2.80 8.40 3.00 7.60 3.20 210.00 270.00 0.44 0.20 5.20 2.85 3.95 290.00 0.35 0.00 5.30 2.40 3.65 316.00 3.00 0.14 2.80 2.60 1.62 310.00 2.90 0.00 2.90 2.50 1.62 325.00 5.75 0.00 6.78 5.48 7.35 252.00 0.35 0.14 2.65 2.85 1.60 310.00 0.32 0.00 2.35 2.30 1.55 318.00 2.80 0.00 1.75 2.60 1.60 330.00 0.30 0.00 5.10 2.30 3.40 325.00 0.25 0.00 1.40 1.86 1.25 328.00 10.20 1.16 4.80 0.81 12.00 1.97 15.00 1.91 10.45 1.67 142.00 12.14 References [1] Raab, T., Lopez-Raez, J. A., Klein, D., Caballero, J. L., Moyano, E., Schwab, W. and Muñoz-Blanco, J. 2006. FaQR, required for the biosynthesis of the strawberry flavor compound 4-hydroxy-2, 5-dimethyl-3(2H)furanone, encodes an enone oxidoreductase. Plant Cell 18: 1023–1037. [2] Dennis, C. 1978. 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Therefore, upon proper citation of the original work, all the articles can be used without any restriction or can be distributed in any medium in any form. Chem Sci Rev Lett 2018, 7(25), 233-236 Publication History Received 05th Jan 2018 Revised 25th Feb 2018 Accepted 10th Mar 2018 Online 30th Mar 2018 Article CS052049012 236