- Version
- Download 13
- File Size 1.47 MB
- File Count 1
- Create Date January 20, 2025
- Last Updated March 30, 2025
Finger millet (Elusine coracana L. Gaertn) blast disease integrated management techniques: combining fungicide sprays and resistant cultivars for long-term crop protection
One of the most significant biotic restrictions on finger millet productivity is Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr-caused blast disease (E. coracana L. Gaertn). In the Fenotselam and North Achefer area, this study was carried out to assess the combined impact of fungicides and varieties under field circumstances on lowering yield loss and finger millet blast disease intensities in the 2022 and 2023 cropping seasons. Three fungicides (Contaf Max 350 SC, Nativo 300 SC, and Tilt 250 EC) and four finger millet cultivars (Bako-09, Tessema, Necho, and Local) were employed in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The leaves of Bako-09 and Tessema had the lowest disease severity, at 34% and 34%, respectively. Necho (93% and 2836% days) and Local (84% and 2576% days) varieties had the highest head blast severity and area under the illness development curve, but the same kinds had the lowest blast area under the disease progress curve (818% and 1031% days). On the other hand, Contaf Max 350 SC showed the lowest illness severity and area under the disease progress curve (40% and 985%-days). On the other hand, the control group scored higher on the maximal head blast severity and the area under the illness advancement curve (92% and 2784% days, respectively). The untreated plots yielded the lowest grain production (2016 kg ha-1), whereas the application of Contaf Max 350 SC resulted in the highest mean grain harvest (3045 kg ha-1). Plots of the native variety treated with Contaf Max 350 SC and Nativo 300 SC yielded the highest marginal rates of return (13479% and 13128%, respectively). Bako-09 and Contaf Max 350 SC were applied together, which significantly reduced the development of blast disease and improved yield with local variety. For production at both sites, the fungicide Contaf Max 350 SC combined with the high-yielding local variety Bako-09 and the less disease-reactive Bako-09 might be suggested.
