Management of Fusarium Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melongenae) using Organic Soil Amendments in Eggplant

Brinjal is one of the important vegetable crops in India. Many diseases affect its production. Among them, Fusarium wilt disease causes great losses in yield. Normally, this disease is controlled with fungicides, which not only develop resistance in disease-causing pathogens but also have deleterious effects on human health and the environment. So, in the present study, alternative methods of control that are eco-friendly, safe, easy, and affordable by using organic soil amendments were tested both In vitro and in pot culture studies. In the present study, aqueous extracts of different organic amendments were tested at 10 and 15 percent concentrations against the growth of the pathogen in vitro. Among them, neem cake showed highest percentages of mycelial inhibition (80.88% and 85.56%), followed by mustard cake (78.72% and 73.41%) against the test pathogen at 10 and 15 percent, respectively. However, the least mycelium growth inhibition was recorded with cotton cake extract (34.06% and 54.67%). Besides, pot culture studies also yielded similar results. Out of nine organic amendments tested against Fusarium wilt in pot conditions, neem seed kernel cake recorded the lowest wilt incidence (22.19% and 16.95%), followed by mustard cake (23.49% and 17.54%) at 100 and 150 g concentrations, respectively, whereas treatments with vermicompost, goat manure, and poultry manure showed lower inhibition against wilt incidence when compared to the remaining oil cake organic amendments at both concentrations tested. In the present study, it was found that aqueous extracts of organic amendments tested against the pathogen showed significant inhibition in-vitro. Similarly, incorporation of organic amendments into sick soil inoculated with pathogen showed a significant reduction in the incidence of wilt disease as compared to the untreated control.