Biopriming and integrated management of Cercospora leaf spot of Sesame caused by Cercospora sesamicola

Among the foliar diseases of Sesame, Cercospora leaf spot caused by Cercospora sesamicola was destructive disease infecting all parts of the plant from seedling to physiological maturity leading to seed borne and further serves as primary source of inoculum for next season. At present management through chemicals are the first choice for the farmers to combat diseases because of their visibility of results immediately after application. The focus has been shifted to safer alternatives to chemical fungicides in recent years. Biological management had attained importance in modern Agriculture to curtail the hazards of intensive use of chemicals. Hence, an attempt was made to assess the effect of IDM modules viz., Biointensive (M1), Chemical (M2) and Adaptive (M3) on disease severity and yield of sesame in comparison with untreated check (M4). The study revealed that Module 3: Seed treatment with Trichoderma viride @ 10 g/kg - furrow application of enriched Trichoderma (2.5 kg Trichoderma viride + 100 kg Vermicompost) @ 250 kg/ha-spray of combi product (Tebuconazole 50 % + Trifloxystrobin 25 % WG) @ 0.5 g/l at 30-35 and second spray at 50-60 days after sowing recorded least per cent disease index (44.8 PDI) for Cercospora leaf spot and highest yield of 872 kg/ha with a net returns of 25,268 and cost benefit ratio of 1:1.80 under transitional climatic situations.