IMPACT OF DOWNY MILDEW DISEASE CAUSED BY PSEUDOPERONOSPORA CUBENSIS ON CUCUMBER GERMPLASM AND ITS HORTICULTURAL ATTRIBUTES

Downy mildew caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis is one of the most destructive diseases of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.). This disease mainly affects foliage. Growth parameters like plant weight, fresh weight of shoot and root, dry weight of shoot and root, plant height, shoot and root length and total yield are helpful to assess resistance level. The objective of current study was the identification of new sources of resistance by screening of available cucumber germplasm against downy mildew disease and its impact on horticultural attributes. A total of 10 varieties was tested employing Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in the research area of Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Results from the study showed that minimum disease incidence of 18.26%with disease rating 3 in variety Hilton and maximum incidence of 51.90 with disease rating 7 was observed in Cucumber-363. HCU-163, Panda India, Anmol, Captan and Local with disease rating 6 were moderately susceptible with varying level of disease incidence. Anmol variety showed highest fresh weight of roots (2.63g), No. of leaves (30 per plant), plant yield (485.60g) and plant weight (15.86g). Panda India and Captan expressed highest dry weight of roots (0.17g) and root length (0.18m). Highest fresh (13.76g) and dry weight of shoots (8.60g), Shoot length (3.15m) and plant height (3.23m) were expressed by Nakrsan and Cucumber-363. So it is concluded that Anmol variety has good horticultural attributes that could be used in developing improved cultivar.