Vol. 11, Issue 2 (2022)

A preliminary screening of the mango germplasm at Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam against anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides (Penz. & Sacc.) revealed that among the 25 varieties, the choice varieties viz., Alphonso (12^th day) and Sendhura (11^th day) were found to have delayed initial infection of anthracnose and the time taken for more than 30 per cent infection on the fruit surface was 16^th day in both the varieties. The least resistance to anthracnose was found in varieties viz., Neeleshan and Neelum which exhibited early initial infection on the fruit surface.

Three field trials were conducted at mango orchard of Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam during the period from March 2010 to April 2014 for the management of anthracnose in cv. Neelum being a susceptible variety. Ecofriendly and organic means viz., beneficial microorganisms, potassium bicarbonate were included in the treatment to formulate modules for the management. The result indicated that the treatment which comprised of two preharvest sprays of talc based formulation of Pseudomonas fluorescens (FP7) (0.5%) + Burkholderia gladioli strain TNAU 1 (0.5%) followed by post harvest hot water treatment (52ºC + 1ºC for 10 min) amended with potassium bicarbonate (1000 ppm) was very effective in the reduction of anthracnose to 19.78 PDI while in the untreated control, the incidence of post harvest anthracnose was found to be 98.00 PDI. However, this was next best to management using chemical fungicide for the mango anthracnose comprising two preharvest foliar sprays of carbendazim 50 WP (0.1%) starting from 30 days prior to harvest at 15 days interval followed by post harvest treatment of harvested fruits in hot water incorporated with carbendazim 50 WP (500 ppm). The widely adopted management practices in the pre and post harvest stages commonly involve chemical fungicides which lead to residual effect in the post harvest stage posing health risks to the consumers besides affecting the export market. Hence, as an alternative to chemical management, the next best treatment in this study using biocontrol agents can be recommended to the stakeholders.