Effect of variation in the sowing dates on foliar blight of onion Shahnaz Efath, Razdan VK1,*, Kumar Amit2, Bandey Saba Division of Plant Pathology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir Shalimar, Srinagar-190025, J&K, India 1Division of Plant Pathology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Jammu Chatha, Jammu-180009, J&K, India 2Division of Fruit Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir Shalimar, Srinagar-190025, J&K, India *Email for correspondence: khokherak@rediffmail.com
Online published on 25 July, 2018. Abstract Foliar blight is an important disease of onion which has emerged as a major bottleneck in releasing the full genetic potential of the crop. The experiment was carried out on N-53 variety of onion for two consecutive years under randomized block design with seven replications at the university research farm of SKUAST-Jammu, Chatha. The experiment comprised three sowing dates starting from 14 October and subsequently at fifteen day intervals. In the present study Alternaria alternata, A porri and Stemphylium vesicarium were observed as the major pathogens whereas A tenuissima, Cladosporium allii-cepae and Colletotrichum circinans as minor pathogens associated with the disease. Sowing of crop on 1 November resulted in significantly lower disease intensity (42.49 and 35.17% in the first and second year respectively) and recorded higher yield (258.98 and 300.68 q/ha in the first and second year respectively) than sowing on either 14 October or 14 November. Top Keywords Onion, foliar blight, sowing dates, pathogens. Top |