Limited work on disease and insect pest management was taken up in the project. However, recommendations for management of important diseases and insect pests are as follows:
| Crop | Disease | Etiology | Findings & Recommendations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicinal Crops | |||
| Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum | Downy mildew | Peronospora arborescens | Seed treatment with metalaxyl and four sprays of metalaxyl @ 0.2% at 35, 55, 75 and 95 days after sowing found most effective in reducing primary and secondary disease incidence. It also increased latex yield (26.7%) and seed yield (24.7%) over control.
Jawahar Opium poppy – 540 having some resistance against the disease has been recommended for M.P. |
| Senna (Cassia angustifolia | Leaf spot | Alternaria alternata | Spraying of Bordeaux mixture, benomyl, captafol and copper oxy chloride is recommended. |
| Isabgol (Plantago ovata | Downy mildew | Peronospora alta P. plantaginis Psendoperonospora plantaginis | Seed treatment with metalaxyl at 4g/kg seed and 3 sprays of metalaxyl (0.2%) at 15 days interval starting from first appearance is best for disease control. December sown crops are mostly disease free. |
| Sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentina | Leaf blight & Bud rot | Alternaria tenuis | Spraying of maneb (0.3%) or rovaral (0.2%). Seed treatment with contact fungicides. |
| Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabnra | Leaf spot | Cercospora cavarae | Maneb or zineb spray at 0.2%. |
| Long pepper (Piper longum | Leaf spot & rotting | Colletotrichum & Cercospora spp. | Spraying of Bordeaux mixture – one during May and 2-3 sprays during rainy season. |
| Khasi kateri(Solanum viarum | Wilt | Fusarium oxysporum | Direct sowing of seeds instead of transplanting of seedlings can reduce the disease incidence |
| Aromatic Crops | |||
| Palmarosa & Lemongrass (Cymbopogon spp.) | Red leaf spot | Collectorichum graminicola | Two sprays of carbendazim (0.1%) or 3 sprays of maneb (0-.3%) starting from first appearance of disease at 20 days or 10-12 days intervals, respectively. |
| Rose (Rosa damascena | Die back | Diplodia rosarum | Pruned ends of the shoots should be treated with copper fungicides. |
| Ambrette seeds (Abelmoschus moschatus | Anthracnose | Collectotrichum hibiscicum | Seed treatment with contact fungicides and spray of Bordeaux mixture are recommended. |
