Management of Alternaria leaf blight of Dalbergia sissoo

Leaf blight in the seedlings and young trees of Dalbergia sissoo, an epidemic disease in nurseries and plantations, caused by Alternaria alternata is recorded from western Uttar Pradesh. The symptoms of leaf blight started from margins and progressively to the midrib and giving a brown and crispy appearance to the infected leaves. To find out effective chemical fungicide for disease management, eight fungicides viz. Indofil M-45 [Mancozeb] (0.2%), Chlorothalonil (0.2%), Cuman-L [Ziram] (0.2%), Ridomil [Metalaxyl] (0.2%), Indofil Z-78 [Zineb] (0.2%), Copper oxychloride (0.2%), Jkstein [Methyl Benzimidazole Carbonate] (0.1%) and Topsin M [Thiophanate Methyl] (0.1%) were sprayed on D. sissoo seedlings in nursery. The results indicated that all the fungicides significantly reduced the disease incidence as compared to control. However, Indofil M-45 treatment was found to be most effective which exhibited 80.87 per cent disease control over control experiment.