IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF SELECTED FUNGICIDES AND BOTANICAL EXTRACTS AGAINST Botryodiplodia theobromae, RESPONSIBLE FOR GUAVA DECLINE

Abstract

There are numerous diseases which cause slow growth of plants. Botryodiplodia theobromae is one of the chronic diseases which generate guava decline. It is a destructive fungal pathogen, which brings considerable economic losses in the yield of guava in tropical regions of Sindh, Pakistan. The management of guava decline is very difficult; however, it can be managed up to satisfactory level through certain chemical and botanical practices. Here we studied the efficacy of some selected fungicides, such as Topsin-M, Cabriotop and Acrobat with three concentrations (25, 50, 75 ppm) and botanical extracts, such as tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Akk (Calotropi sprocera), Neem (Azadirachta indica) and Tooh (Citrullus cololcynthis), for which the concentrations were kept as (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 ml) against B. theobromae. The results manifested that between all of the fungicides Topsin-M was profoundly effective in dropping the linear colony growth of the fungus, whereas Cabriotop appeared moderately helpful, and Acrobat was less effective. While in-vitro evaluation of the botanical extracts showed high variation in reducing the fungus growth. The botanical extracts extensively decreased the linear colony growth of B. theobromae. Between them, tobacco was found to be the most effective botanical extract followed by akk, whereas, neem was moderately effective, and tooh was found less effective against B. theobromae. The present study revealed that B. theobromae could be effectively managed through Topsin-M and Tobacco, fungicide and botanical extract, respectively, which could be future prospective in controlling the guava decline under field conditions. Also, further different fungicides and botanical extracts must be evaluated in-vitro and then applied under field conditions.