Isolation, identification, pathogenicity test and screening of brinjal cultivars against damping off in brinjal

Abstract

Brinjal or egg plant (Solanum melongena L.) is widely grown vegetable crop in India.\rOf the various diseases affecting brinjal, damping off caused by Pythium ultimum\rTrow. is one of the most destructive diseases causing several yield losses. The pathogen\r(P.ultimum) from naturally diseased brinjal plant showing typical symptoms of damping\roff was successfully isolated on the basal culture medium potato dextrose agar. The\rfungus P.ultimum produce nonseptate, well branched, colourless to whitish mycelium,\rsporangia on indeterminate sporangiophores when observed under the microscope.\rPathogenicity of Pythium ultimum Trow. was proved by sick soil method in pot culture,\rsowing brinjal cv. HADGAON LOCAL under screen house condition. The pathogen was\rreisolated on PDA from artificially diseased brinjal seedling, and compared its cultural\rand morphological characteristics with the original fungus isolated from the naturally\rdamping off diseased brinjal plant. Based on the typical symptoms of damping off,\rmorphological and cultural characteristics, microscopic observations and pathogenicity\rtest; the test pathogen was identified and confirmed as P. ultimum. Results revealed\rthat of 13 brinjal cultivar lines, five lines viz., EPM-564, Ajay, Kranti seed, Brinjal MG\rand Puneri Kateri were moderately susceptible with disease incidence in the range of\r11.10 to 16.66 per cent and five lines viz., Vishal, Arnav, Local Pingali, Local Kinwat,\rLocal Hadgaon were susceptible with the disease incidence of about 22.21 to 44.44 per\rcent.