POTENTIALITY OF SEED TREATMENT WITH SOME PLANT EXTRACT TO CONTROL BIPOLARIS LEAF BLIGHT (Bipolaris sorokiniana) AND INCREASING YIELD OF WHEAT

Abstract

A study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of plant extracts to control Bipolaris leaf blight (Bipolaris sorokiniana) and increasing grain yield of wheat. Water extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica). 'allamanda'(Allamallda cathartica), 'mehedi'(Lawsonia alba) leaves, 'bishkatali' (Polygonum hydropiper) shoot, 'garlic'(Allium sativum) clove, onion (Allium cepa) bulb, black cumin (Nigella sativa) seed, and ginger (Zingiber officinalis) rhizome were prepared at a concentration of I :2. Wheat seeds were treated with individual plant extracts. Seeds were also treated with Vitavax-200 for comparison. It was found that all the plant extracts except mehedi increased seed germination on blotter. A remarkable reduction in incidence of seed borne Bipolaris sorokiniana was achieved with the botanicals. The disease severity was the lowest under Vitavax-200, followed by bishkatali and garlic extract. The highest disease severity was recorded under control. The increasd grain yield over control was achieved with extracts of onion, garlic, black cumin, ginger, bishkatali and neem. The efficacy of plant extracts to decrease disease severity and to increase zrain vield was more or less similar to that of Vitavax -200.