Management of alternaria blight of mustard with combination of chemicals and botanicals

Field trial on efficacy of different spraying combinations of three fungicides and five plant extracts with mancozeb (0.2%) as fungicidal check was evaluated against Alternaria blight of mustard. Comparative analysis of various spraying schedules revealed that first spray of carbendazim (0.1%) + mancozeb (0.2%) followed by two sprays of mancozeb (0.2%) at early date of sowing (20th October) was the best combination in reducing the disease severity on leaves (18.7%) and pods (10.4%) higher realization yield (1295.8 kg/ha), 10000 seed weight (5.12 g) and oil content (42.6%). Sowing of 20th October also gave higher seed yield and significantly reducing disease intensity on leaves and pods in comparison to second date of sowing i.e. 20th November. Among the botanicals integrated with standard check mancozeb, 5% aqueous extract of Datura stramonium, Eucalyptus globosus and Allium sativum reduced the disease intensity by 21.7, 23.3 and 25.5% on leaves, respectively. However, mancozeb provided the highest reduction (20.9%) on leaves and was statistically at par to these plant extracts. Apart from mancozeb, Datura was found to be most effective in increasing seed yield.