Susceptibility of different Basmati rice varieties to bakanae disease and it’s integrated management in rice cultivar Pusa Basmati 1121

Bakanae disease of rice incited by Fusarium fujikuroi is a re-emerging major disease problem especially in Basmati rice. The objective of the present study was to investigate the susceptibility of popular Basmati and aromatic rice cultivars to bakanae disease and to explore effective management practice against the disease. In resistance evaluation study, four Basmati rice varieties viz., Pusa Basmati 1121, Pusa Basmati 6, Improved Pusa Basmati 1, Pusa Basmati 1509 and one aromatic cultivar viz., Pusa Sugandh 5 were evaluated for their resistance to F. fujikuroi using seed inoculation technique. Different management options viz., five seed treatments (untreated seed, carbendazim 50% WP treated seed, Pseudomonas fluorescens treated seed, Trichoderma viride treated seed and fungal culture treated seed), four soil amendments (un-amended soil, carbendazim 50% WP amended soil, P. fluorescens amended soil and T. viride amended soil) and three foliar sprays (un-sprayed control, carbendazim 50% WP @ 0.25% and tebuconazole 50% + trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 0.1%) were integrated and evaluated in rice cultivar PB 1121 for bakanae disease management under field conditions. The susceptibility against bakanae among the cultivars tested was found maximum in Pusa Basmati 1121 followed by Pusa Basmati 1509 in transplanted field. Under field conditions, among the treatments evaluated, an integration of seed treatment with carbendazim 50% WP @ 2.0 g/kg seed, soil amendment with carbendazim 50% WP at 8 DAT @ 2.5 kg/ha and two foliar sprays with carbendazim 50% WP @ 2.5 g/L water resulted in 96.4 per cent control of bakanae disease. Conclusively, the bakanae disease can be efficiently managed by integrating different management strategies used in the present study. © 2023, Indian Phytopathological Society.