DISEASE OF PIGEONPEA AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Sharad Shroff

Arhar [Cajanus cajan(L.) Millsp. Syn. Cytisus cajan L.] is popular pulse crop, native to Africa and is now grown in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka states of India. Seeds are eaten as pulse whereas husk of pods and leaves provide valuable cattle feed and twigs are used as green manure. In India, it is also grown as cover crop in plantations. The thin straight branches of Arhar are used for making baskets, and as thatching material. Arhar holds a reputed position as medicine. In many countries including India, the natives are still using Arhar to treat their health problems. According to Ayurveda, leaves are astringent, sweet, diuretic, laxative, cooling, anti-inflammatory and anodyne. It is useful in oral ulcers, odontalgia, gingivitis, stranguary and inflammations. The seeds are astringent, acrid, sweet, anthelmintic, cooling, pectoral, constipating, resolvent, alexeteric, febrifuge and expectorant. The seeds are useful in tumours, oral ulcers, cough, vomiting, bronchitis, haemorrhoids, fever and cardiac diseases. The main objective of this article is to provide essential knowledge to farmer about pigeonpea diseases and its management. To ensure good yield of pulse crops in India.

S.N	DISEASES	CAUSAL ORGANISM
1	Alternaria blight	Alternaria alternata
2	Wilt	Fusarium udum
3	Cercospora leaf spot	Cercospora cajani
4	Phytophthora blight	Phytopthora drechsleri f.sp. cajani
5	Powdery mildew	Leveillula taurica
6	Sterility mosaic	Unknown

1. Alternaria blight of pigeonpea

Symptoms -

symptoms of Alternaria blight of pigeonpea characterized by light to dark brown spots surrounded by yellow hallo later spot turn to dark brown and coleuses and destroy the whole leaf.

Control -

1. Seed treatment with hot water at 52 degrees Celsius 4 minute dip.
2. Spray of mencozeb 0.25% and zineb 0.25% in 10 to 15 days intervals.

2. Wilt of Pigeonpea

Symptoms-

The wilting is characterized by gradual and sudden yellowing, withering and dying of leaves followed by drying of entire plant or some of its branches. Patches of diseased plants are scattered throughout the field, examination of the main roots and of the base of the stem shows that the tissues are blackened, either uniformly or, especially in early stages, in streaks.

Partial wilting is also common. The stem on one side is blackened and few or all branches on that side wilt and wither away, the rest of the plant escaping injury.

Control -

1. Crop rotation is best in eliminating soil born infection.
2. Removal of infected plant and deep summer ploughing.
3. Growing of resistance varieties.
4. Seed treatment with carbendazim reduce early incidence of wilt.
5. Seed treatment with thiram + T. harzianum also reduce wilt incidence.

3. Cercospora leaf spot

Symptoms-

Disease is characterized by small light brown lesion in under surface of leaf later this spot become angular and may coalesce and destroy whole leaves and in sever stage its also appear in stem and petioles.

Control-

1. Growing of resistance varieties.
2. Crop rotation and sanitation.
3. Spray of mencozeb and zineb 0.25% in 10-15 days intervals.

4. Phytophthora blight

Symptoms-

Water soaked spot appear in early stage of leaf which become necrotic in later stage and become circular to irregular shape and destroy whole foliage.

Symptoms also appear in stem as water soaked spots near the ground later become dark brown and necrotic and girdled the stem.

Control-

1. Sanitation and crop rotation.
2. Growing of resistance varieties.
3. Seed treatment with metalaxyl + mencozeb (Ridomil MZ) provides maximum protection.
4. Spray of metalaxyl + mencozeb (Ridomil MZ) up to 15 days intervals.

5. Powdery mildew

Symptoms-

Disease is characterized by appearance of powdery patches in all aerial part of plant first in leaves later on stem, pods etc. affected leaves become necrotic and dries and completely defoliated. Later pods also dry and necrotic with small sized grains.

Control-

1. Growing resistance varieties.
2. Sanitation.
3. Spray of sulfex 0.25% or karathane or sulfur fungicides at15 day's intervals.

6. Sterility mosaic

Symptoms -

Symptoms of the disease are typical mosaic. Leaves show faint yellow mosaic pattern they are short in size. Dwarfing of branches and small size of leaves gives bushy appearances to top of plant. No flowering (sterility) or reduced flowering which don't form pods.

Controls -

1. Growing of resistance varieties.
2. Spray of Malathion 0.25% in 15 days intervals.

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Authors:
Sharad Shroff,
Banaras Hindu University Varanasi
E-mail: sharadshroff1984@gmail.com

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