Managing chickpea wilt Fusarium oxysporum through use of biorationals

The three agro-climatic zones of Jammu were surveyed and potential pesticidal plants / plant materials were collected. Their methanolic extracts were prepared following the standard procedure of refluxing, distillation and fractionation. They were assessed for antifungal activity against chickpea wilt, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceri by poisoned food technique. Among the 64 plant parts assessed, Arisaema flavum root / tuber extract (4.0 mm) recorded lowest radial growth, followed by Boerrhavia diffuse root extracts (6.0 mm) and Arisaema flavum stem + leaves extract (8.0 mm). Accordingly, Arisaema flavum roots / tubers extract also exhibited 95.55% and its leaves recorded 91.00% inhibition. Boerrhavia diffuse stem and root extracts again exhibited 94.5 per cent inhibition, while Achyranthes aspera root exhibited 91.11% inhibition. These extracts / fractions have great potential to be developed as botanical pesticide that can greatly benefit human beings in multifarious ways.