Gram: wilt, grey mould and Ascochyta blight

Wilt of gram
• The affected plants show drooping and their sudden death is very
common. The leaves of affected plants turn yellow and fall off
prematurely.
• Collar region of affected plants show necrosis and discolouration.
Wilting can occur in seedlings and adult plants as well.
• Initially petioles and rachis along with leaflets show drooping and
within 2-3 days drooping of entire plant takes place.
• The affected plants can be pulled out more easily than healthy plants
as most of the lateral roots of infected plants become weak.
• Transverse sections of basal region show discolouration of vascular
tissues and the fungal hyphae.
Wilt of gram
 Pathogen
• The disease is caused by Fusarium oxysporum
Schlecht, emend. Snyd. & Hans. f. sp. ciceri
(Padwick) Snyd. & Hans.
• The pathogen belongs to family
Tuberculariaceae, order Moniliales and sub-
division Deuteromycotina.
• The mycelium is inter and intracellular and
found abundantly in vascular tissues.
• The pathogen produces micro and
macroconidia. Macroconidia are sickle
shaped, septate and hyaline and measure 25-
40 x 3-4µ, while microconidia are elliptical,
have one or two septa and measure 4-6 x 2-4µ.
 Disease cycle
• The pathogen is a facultative parasite and survives for a long time on plant debris
in soil especially on host roots which are left in the soil after harvesting.
• The pathogen may produce resting spores known as chlamydospores that can
survive under adverse conditions. As soon as next crop is sown the
chlamydospores become active and infect plants.
• The disease may also be carried to new areas by contamination of seeds by
chlamydospores in the hylum region of the seed. Pigeonpea, pea and lentil are
symptomless carriers of the pathogen.
• Favourable Conditions: High soil temperature (Above 250 C), high soil
moisture, monocropping and presence of weed hosts like Cyperus rotundus,
Tribulus terrestris and Convolvulus arvensis.
 Management
• Treat the seeds with Carbendazim or Thiram at 2 g/kg or treat the
seeds with Trichoderma viride at 4 g/kg or Pseudonomas fluorescens
@ 10g/kg of seed.
• Apply heavy doses of organic manure or green manure.
• Follow 6-year crop rotation with non-host crops.
• Grow resistant cultures like Kranthi (ICCC 37), Swetha (ICCV-2),
ICCV 10, Avrodhi, G 24, C 214, BG 244, Pusa 212 and JG 315.
 Grey mould
• The disease attacks the base of
the stem and collar region of
young plants, where a soft rot
develops and then becomes
covered with a fluffy grey mould.
• Infected plants wither and dye.
Leaf infection causes
comparatively less yield loss.
• When disease appears in severe
form the crop is totally lost.
Seeds are also infected and they
become white due to infection
decreasing the market value of
the produce.
• Crop losses are very high during
wet season.
 Pathogen
• The disease is caused by the
pathogen, Botrytis cinerea Pers.
Ex. Fr. Which belongs to
Deuteromycotina.
 Disease cycle
• The pathogen survives in seed and crop residue and in soil. The plants
can be infected at any stage of their growth.
• Infected seeds are the primary source of inoculum. Infected plants
develop masses of spores which are air borne and spread the pathogen
rapidly.
• Once the infection is established, conditions under the canopy are
ideal for spreading the disease.
 Control
• The control options include use of less susceptible varieties, lower
seed rate, plant thinning and delayed sowing and need based foliar
sprays with fungicides, crop rotation and seed treatment with
fungicides.
 Ascochyta blight
• The disease occurs in North-western part of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and
Hariyana in severe form. The disease is also found in Pakistan,
countries bordering Mediterranean sea and parts of eastern Europe.
 Symptoms
• Brown, circular spots with brownish red margin appear on leaves and
pods of affected plants. On petioles and stem the spots are elongated in
shape.
• The spots on leaves coalesce turning the leaf completely brown. On
green pods, the circular lesions have dark margin where black dot like
bodies appear known as pycnidia.
• The pycnidia are arranged in concentric circles. The elongated lesions
on stem and petioles also bear black dots and may girdle the stem. The
parts above the lesions droop and wilt.
• If the stem is girdled at the base the whole plant will show wilting.
During wet weather the disease spread very fast and may cover the
whole field.
 Pathogen
• Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labrousse is
the causal pathogen. The pathogen
belongs to family Sphaeropsidaceae
in Deuteromycotina.
• The perfect stage of the fungus is
Didymella rabiei (Kov.) Von Arx. The
mycelium of the pathogen is septate.
• The pycnidia develop on stem, leaves
and seed pods are dark brown,
globose and measure 140-200µ.
Conidia are formed within pycnidium
and remain viable for long period of
time.
• The pycnidia absorb water, swell and
release conidia. Several strains of the
pathogen are known.
 Disease cycle
• The pathogen survives on plant debris left in the field and also on
seeds which serve the source of primary inoculum. Further spread of
the pathogen is through conidia which are disseminated by splashing
rain, by insects, contact of healthy and diseased leaves and by the
movement of man and animals. The disease spread fast at a
temperature of 22-26 C and wet weather
• Night temperatures of 100 C and day temperature of 200 C, rains
accompanied by cloudy weather and excessive canopy favour the
disease spread.
 Management
• Grow resistant/tolerant varieties like Gaurav, C 235, G 543, GG 588,
GG 688, BG 261 and GNJ 214.
• Remove and destroy the infected plant debris in the field.
• Follow crop rotation with cereals.
• Deep sowing of seeds, i.e., 15cm or deeper.
• Intercropping with wheat, barley and mustard.
• Treat the seeds with Thiram 2g or Carbendazim 2 g /kg.
• Exposure of seed at 40-500 C reduced the survival of A. rabiei by
about 40-70 per cent. Spray with [email protected]% or
[email protected]%.
Lentil: rust and wilt
 Rust of Lentil
• The disease symptoms are necrosis and deformity of stem and affected
plants often die.
• Yellowish powdery pustules are developed on leaves, stem and
petioles and even on pods.
• These yellow spots have aecia in round and elongated clusters.
• Uredopustules develop on both side of leaves, petiole and stem as
powdery light brown pustules.
• Dark brown or black teliospores also develop in the same sorus at later
stages.
• They mostly develop on stem and petioles. Later the aecidia and
pycnidia develop. It is autoceous rust.
 Pathogen
• The causal pathogen is Uromyces fabae (Pers.) de Bary. The pathogen
belongs to Basidiomycotina.
• Aeciospores developed in aecia are round to elliptical, yellowish in
colour and measure 14-22 micron.
• Uredospores are round to ovate, light brown and measure 20-30 x 18-
26µ in size. Teliospores are subglobose to ovate, brown in colour and
measure 25-38 x 18-27µ
 Disease Cycle
• The dissemination of lentil rust pathogen takes place by aeciospores which form secondary
aecia after infection of leaves. T
• he secondary aecia are formed at a temperature of 17-22 C but at 25 C the infection causes
development of uredia.
• The aeciospores and probably the uredospores do not survive during off season.
• The teliospores can withstand the summer heat and hence the lentil rust perpetuates in its
telial stage in the left over diseased plants trash or on seed as external contaminant and infects
the new crop in the next season.
• Aeciospores from lentil have also been found to infect pea and Vicia faba and Lathyrus.
• However, another species of Uromyces, U. pisi (Pers) Wint. is a heteroceous rust and
commonly occur on cultivated pea.
• The aecial stage of this pathogen develops on Euphorbia cyparissias L. This rust is not
common in India.
 Control
• Destruction of diseased plant trash after harvest, crop rotation, and
seed treatment with fungicides are the effective control measures.
 Wilt of Lentil
• Like other Fusarium wilts, the infected plants may wither and die.
Leaves may show yellow to brown discoloration and finally drop off.
• Necrosis and discoloration on collar region is visible and most of the
lateral roots are destroyed due to infection.
 Pathogen
• The disease is caused by the pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum
Orthoceros var. lentidis.
• It belongs to family Tuberculariaceae, order Moniliales and sub-
division Deuteromycotina.
• The pathogen is present both inter and intracellularly in vascular
bundles of the host and produces macro and microconidia overthere.
 Disease Cycle
• The pathogen is a facultative parasite and lives saprophytically on
organic matter in the soil.
• When the crop is harvested, the roots remain in soil and pathogen
survives on these roots for several years.
• The pathogen may produce chlamydospores which may face adverse
soil conditions and become active and infect plants when next crop is
sown
 Control
• The pathogen is soil borne.
• Crop rotation with resistant crops and soil amendments with organic
matter can reduce the chances of infection.
• Growing resistant varieties is the best control.