Evaluation of Fungicides, Bio-agents and Botanicals against Rhizoctonia spp. Incitant of Sheath Blight of Rice

Sheath blight is a destructive disease in all rice crop growing areas of the world. The present investigation was carried out to test the efficacy of fungicides, botanicals and bioagents. Among fungicides tested Propiconazole 13% + Difenoconazole 13.9% SC, Propiconazole 25% EC, Tebuconazole 50% + Trifoxystrobin 25% WG, Hexaconazole 5% EC and Carbendazim 50% WP completely inhibited the radial growth of R. solani. The fungicide Azoxystrobin (21.11%) and Validamaycin (30.37%) found least effective. In vitro studies revealed that, all the four bio-agents were effective against the pathogen. The order of per cent inhibition of the fungus are Trichoderma reesei (73.04%) > Trichoderma asperellum (71.38%) >Pseudomonas fluorescens (64.44%) > Bacillus subtilis (61.38%). Among six botanical extracts (10%) evaluated against R. solani, complete inhibition of the fungal mycelium was observed in garlic bulb extract which was significantly superior to rest of the treatments.