Multiple modules for the management of banded leaf and sheath blight of maize in India

Banded leaf and sheath blight (BLSB) of maize ( Zea mays L.) is caused by most widespread and destructive pathogen Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. sasakii . The disease is difficult to manage through fungicides or crop rotation alone due to its soil-borne nature and unavailability of host resistance sources. Four modules namely one chemical, two organic and one integrated disease management (IDM) modules were evaluated at four hot spot locations viz., Ludhiana, Karnal, Delhi and Pantnagar during Kharif 2018 and 2019. Mean disease severity of BLSB was found significantly low in all the treatments compared to positive control across the locations. The chemical module showed the highest percent disease control (PDC) in Ludhiana and Pantnagar while the IDM module showed the highest percent disease control (PDC) in Karnal and Delhi. The Benefit-cost (B:C) ratio was the highest in the chemical module at Ludhiana (1.35) and Pantnagar (1.11) while standard control showed the highest B:C ratio at Delhi (1.72) and Karnal (0.84) over the control. It is concluded that effectiveness of modules varied among the locations due to weather and soil conditions. Based on the B:C ratio of different treatments, the specific module had been identified to manage BLSB location wise. Chemical and IDM were effective at all the locations to manage the BLSB disease.