Management of Fusarium Basal Rot of Onion caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cepae through Desert Plants Extracts

IntroductionO nion (Allium cepa L.), family Alliaceae, is a very economical and productive horticultural crop cultivated worldwide (Griffiths et al., 2002).It took great importance worldwide due to its nutritional, medicinal and economic values (Nasri et al., 2012) also contain much anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, anticancer, antioxidant properties.It is an impor-tant crop with a great source of phyto-constituents and is well known for its pleasant flavor.This crop is extensively used in many foods as pungency in soups, salads, sandwiches, meat dishes, and prepared as vegetable foods.Fusarium oxysporum is a very common soil-born fungus.It has the capability to remain alive in the soil for numerous years without having a host.When a Abstract | Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a very economical and productive horticultural crop extensively cultivated worldwide.It is grown commercially throughout the country and contributes significantly to the economy of Pakistan.Onion is susceptible to many foliar, bulb and root fungal pathogens that badly destroy onion crops, greatly reducing its yield and quality.Fusarium oxysporum is a very common soil-borne fungus that causes basal rot onion and it has the ability to survive in the soil for many years without having a host.Many fungicides are available in the market to control the basal rot of onion which contain hazardous material that continuously destroys the environment and human health.The objective of the present study was to evaluate the fungicidal efficacy of desert plant extracts against basal rot of onion in the laboratory, greenhouse and field.Completely randomized design (CRD) was used for in-vitro study and randomized complete block design (RCBD) for greenhouse and field experiments.Three desert plants i.e.Gossypium thurberi, Calotropis procera and Suaeda fruticose were used at 50 ppm, 100 ppm and 150 ppm concentrations.Maximum basal rot disease reduction (78.6%) was recorded at 150 ppm concentration of wild cotton (G.thurberi) under in-vitro conditions.Whereas, wild cotton also gave the highest disease reduction under greenhouse (62.93%) and field conditions (52.56%) as compared with other two plant extracts and control.It is concluded that aqueous extract of wild cotton gave the best control of onion basal rot under lab, greenhouse and field conditions.