Effect of Some Fungicides against Early Blight of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Caused by Alternaria solani (Ell. & Mart.) Jones and Grout and their Impact on Yield

Abstract

The efficacy of some fungicides like carbendazim 12 % + mancozeb 63 % WP, difenoconazole 25 EC, propiconazole 25 EC along with commonly used fungicides viz., mancozeb 75 WP, propineb 70 WP, copper-oxy-chloride 50 % WP and one botanica Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf extract (20%) were tested against early blight of tomato cv. Abhinav at Agricultural Research Station, Ladol, Gujarat. A variant with no application of fungicide was used as a control. All fungicide treatments reduce the disease intensity as compared to untreated check. The lowest percent disease intensity (PDI) was observed in carbendazim 12 % + mancozeb 63 % WP @ 0.2 % (18.77) followed by difenoconazole 25 EC @ 0.025 % (20.59) and propiconazole 25 EC @ 0.025 % (21.52) treatments. Similarly, the highest yield of tomato fruits was recorded with carbendazim 12 % + mancozeb 63 % WP @ 0.2 % (35257 kg/ha) followed by propiconazole 25 EC @ 0.025 % (32328 kg/ha) and difenoconazole 25 EC @ 0.025 % (32202 kg/ha) when sprayed three times at an interval of 15 days starting from the initiation of the disease. The highest cost benefit ratio was obtained with treatment carbendazim 12 % + mancozeb 63 % WP (1:3.56) followed by propiconazole 25 EC (1:3.24) and difenconazole 25 EC (1:2.95), however, propineb 70 WP (1:2.60), mancozeb 75 WP (1:2.59), copper-oxy-chlorode 50 % WP (1:2.16) and neem leaf extract 20 % (1:2.06) were promising in obtaining higher returns over control.