Efficacy of fungicides for management of banded leaf and sheath blight of Kodo millet caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn

Five fungicides viz. validamycin, hexaconazole, propiconazole, tricyclazole and carbendazim were evaluated as seed treatment alone and in combination with one foliar spray to manage the banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) incidence of Kodo millet caused by Rhizoctonia solani in susceptible cv. JK 155 under field conditions. Significant differences in relative lesion height (%) and grain yield was recorded in different treatments. Seed treatment with validamycin (2g kg-1 seed) followed by one foliar spray (0.2%) was found best by reducing the 85.3% disease severity and increasing the grain yield (25.8%) over check. Seed treatment and one foliar spray of hexaconazole (0.2%) and propiconazole (0.2%) were at par and next best treatments after validamycin by decreasing the disease severity 78.2 and 76.8%, respectively.