Based on earlier results obtained in pot experiments, 2-year field experiments were conducted with five bioinoculants and neem cake under organic field conditions (with vermicompost as a nutritional supplement) to evaluate their potential to control root-rot and wilt (a complex problem involving Fusarium chlamydosporum and Ralstonia solanacearum) of the medicinal plant Coleus forskohlii. Plants treated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus fasciculatum), neem cake or Pseudomonas fluorescens showed significantly increased plant height (15-31%), plant spread (25-33%), number of branches (63-67%) and dry root (129-200%) yields, and reduced disease incidence (47-50%) compared to controls. Increases in yields were reflected by increases in N (51-81%), P (17-76%) and K (44-74%) uptake. The forskolin content of the roots was found not to be affected by any of the bioinoculants, but forskolin yield (calculated) was increased significantly by treatment with G. fasciculatum (227%), neem cake (222%) or P. fluorescens (159%).
S U M M A R YDifferent geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L. Herit) clones differed in susceptibility to root rot and wilt caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn. Reactions were consistent when assessed either by standardized laboratory tests or by pot experiments using 60-day-old well-rooted plants. Plants of an Algerian-type clone (Kd) had a lower survival rate and higher root rot index values than those of a Reunion type (Lo) and an Egyptian type (Eg). Field studies conducted in naturally-infected plots in southern India from 1987 to 1990 showed that summer planting resulted in higher plant losses of all clones than winter planting. As in the laboratory and pot experiments, the Lo and Eg clones sustained less plant loss and produced higher herbage and oil yields than the Kd clones in both field experiments.
Experiments were conducted during 1992\93 and 1993\94 to determine the effect of different planting dates and dinocap applications on control of powdery mildew and yields of early and late maturing coriander cultivars. Early plantings resulted in lower overall disease severity values for both the cultivars, but the late maturing cultivar S-33 benefited more than RD-44, an early maturing cultivar. Early planting resulted in smaller increases in yield in RD-44 but provided considerable economic gains in S-33. Further, it was possible to achieve similar levels of control of powdery mildew and yields in coriander with fewer dinocap applications by early plantings of both the cultivars. Therefore, to reduce the fungicide inputs, it is important that emphasis should be placed on early plantings for managing powdery mildew especially in environments conducive for its development.
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