CHAPTER - II

REVIEW OF LITERATURES
 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The plant
Som ( Persea bombycina King ex. Hook (f) Kost) is the primary food plant

o f golden silk producer muga silkworm Anthera assama W.w. and formerly known as

Machilus bombycina (Bennet, 1987). It is a grouped o f woody tree, belonging to the

family Lauraceae, and order Laurales. The family contains 40 number o f genera with

100 species distributed mostly in the South East Asia from Australia extending to South

China and Japan. In the New World, Lauraceae is distributed in Brazil, Chile, the U.S.A.

extending northwards to Canada. (Hooker, 1885). Persea bombycina is indigenous to

North East India and also extending from Lower Himalayans to Almora as far as Nepal,

Burma and Indonesia up to altitude o f 1,500 MSL(Hooker, 1885; Chaudhury, 1961;

Kanjilal, 1992). In India, it is distributed in Assam, Megalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura,

Mizuram, N agaland, M anipur, North Bengal, Uttaranchal and Himachal pradesh

(Chaudhury 1981). Production o f quality leaves in scientific way is essential for economic

growth to the industry. Therefore, the leaves o f som plant has economic importance for

muga silkworm culture to produce golden fabric (Choudhury, 1961).

An extensive survey o f literature reveals that research work on som plant

(Persea bombycina King ex. Hook (f) Kost) is relatively little and various aspects o f

fungal ecology and diseases o f the muga food plant has not been studied elsewhere.

However, works on the crops related to the present investigations have been reviewed

and presented here.

Variation of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere mycoflora in different

seasons and depth of the soil
Soil is the mother o f earth and is the habitat o f an extremely complex

microbiological community in which occur all the phenomenon in the struggle for their
 existence. The characteristics o f the soil components are variable by changing o f depth

as well as areas. This variability affects the physical and chemical properties o f the soil

(Rangaswami, 1988). Studies on soil and rhizosphere microflora have greatly increased

in the recent past in view o f its importance in soil fertility, decomposition o f organic

matter, root diseases and antibiotic production. The characteristic o f soil components

are variable in three dimensions, changing with the depth as well as area. This variability

effects the physical and chemical properties of the soil which in turn effect both the

plants and microbial growth (Kagti,1964) and alsoreported that the changes o f soil

characters influence the change o f microbial population.

The distribution pattern o f microfungi in die soil o f perennial plant is greatiy

influenced by the climatic and edaphic factors (Warcup, 1951, Saxena, 1954). Agarwala

and Chauhan (1988) reported the seasonal influence acted on the distribution of

microfungal population in the forest soil. They further reported that the succession of

different microfungal population in different soil types was depend on the various

environmental factors.

Depth o f soil is also greatly responsible on the soil fungal community, while

increasing the depth of soil, both quantitative as well as qualitative reduction in fungal

colonies was observed (Saxena, 1954). Warcup, (1957) also observed the similar results

on occurrence o f the fungi in wheat field soil. Soil moisture play an important role on

the growth and multiplication of the soil fungi in perennial plant soil (Warcup, 1960).

Mukhopadhya and Nandi (1977) studied the rhizosphere mycoflora of

healthy and infected jute plants. They observed that the population o f fungi per gm of

soil were higher in the rhizosphere soil samples then the normal field. Manoharachary

et al. (1977) studied on mycoflora of rhozosphere and non-rhizosphere soil of different

plants such as, Solarium melongena, Lycopersicon esculentas, Sesamum indicum and

Adhatoda vesica. In this study they found except few species most o f the fungi appeared

common in both the soils. They further observed that the domination o f certain fungal

20
genera and species might vary with the crop, soil and climate. Patil and Chandra (1980)

studied the density o f fungal population in rhizosphere soil o f cotton. They also reported

that the climatic factors along with some basic characteristics o f the plant play vital role

for occurrence o f rhizosphere fungal population.

Gangawane and Kulkani (1985) studied the mycoflora changes in

rhizosphere o f ground nut grown in swage and sludge treated soil. Higher numbers o f

species were recorded in sewage treated soil than sludge as against a minimum numbers

in untreated soil.

The production o f antibiotic complexes by soil microorganisms o f

Abelmoschus esculentas occurring in rhizosphere fungi or upon others was studied by

Srivastava and Dayal (1986). Ansari and Prakesh (1986) studied on rhizosphere and

non-rhizosphere mycoflora o f barley plant. Their results indicated that the infected barley

plants have a capacity to absorbed more fungi than the normal one in rhizosphere soil.

They observed that highest frequency value was recorded for Aspergillus niger and

lowest for Memnoniella echinata in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil respectively.

Seasonal fluctuation in the rhizosphere fungi o f potato was studied by Tamini et al.

(1987). They observed that the fungal population started increasing in May, reached in

peak during September. Results also revealed that there was a correlation between the

dominance of Aspergillus and Penicillium and the population dynamics of potato was

pathogenic fungi. Patil and Ihite (1987) studied the rhizosphere mycoflora of four hybrid

varieties o f Sorgham vulgare. They analysis the rhizosphere mycoflora at 15 days

intervals from seedling to mature plants during two seasons (1983 & 1984). It was

observed by them fewer fungal species were present in the year 1983 than in 1984,

probably due to lower rainfall.

The occurrence o f rhizosphere mycoflora depends on physiological and

nutritional condition, depth of the root system, nature of soil and its various physiological

and biological properties (Rangaswami, 1988). Sudhakar et al. (1999) stated that

21
rhizosphere mycoflora effect the mulberry host plant in two ways, it help in providing

the nutrition to the plant and in combating diseases o f food plants. Rhizosphere mycoflora

o f virus infected and healthy plants of Lagenaria vulgaris and Abelmoschus esculantas

were studied by Dublish et al. (1989). They recorded more numbers o f fungal species

in rhizosphere soil o f disease plant than the normal plant soil. The predominant fungi,

isolated included Aspergillusflavus, A. niger, A. sydowi and Trichoderma viride. Nagaraja

(1990) studied rhizosphere mycoflora o f Strychnos nux-vomica and observed that the

most abundant species were Aspergillus followed by Rhizopus, Mucor, Penicillium and

Fusarium. The composition o f the mycoflora varied according to the season. Heavy

rainfall and temperature reduced the fungal population o f the rhizosphere and non-

rhizosphere soil.

Seasonal variation in the rhizosphere m ycoflora o f Parthenium

hysterophorus and Flaveria australasica were studied by Mahmood (1990). Greater

population o f fungi were recorded during winter than summer month, with the highest

numbers occurring during September-November, Sing and Saxena (1991) isolated 30

fungal species from rhizosphere o f healthy and wilt affected cauliflower and from non-

rhizosphere soil of which 28 percent were present in healthy and diseased rhizosphere

and 26 percent from non-rhizosphere soil. They observed that total rhizosphere fungal

population was greater in diseased rhizosphere than the healthy rhizosphere soil.

Arya and Mathew (1993) studied quantitative and qualitative incidence o f

rhizosphere microflora of pigeon pea after solarization. An analysis o f their results

indicated that the number and quality of fungi present in rhizosphere soil always more

and different from those present in the non-rhizosphere soil.

Seasonal variation and distribution o f microfungal population in Sal (Shorea

robusia) forest soil was studied by Baruah and Barah (1995). All these seasons showed

a well marked distinction in variation of fungal population due to physico-chemical

properties of the soil. On the other hand, the least number o f fungal population were

22
recorded during winter season and gradually increased the number during rainy and

summer season.

Basar (1999) studied the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere mycoflora of

jute plant. The result indicated that 31 species were isolated from rhizosphere soil and

19 species were isolated from non-rhizosphere soil. The rhizosphere microflora o f agar

plant of Assam was studied by Das and Dubey (2001). They mentioned that total 60

percent microbial population were isolated from rhizosphere soil and rest 40 percent

from non rhizosphere soil. The rhizosphere soil has capacity to produce more numberes

o f microbial population due to physiological affect o f root system. Rhizosphere mycoflora

of Aquttaria agllocha was studied by Borthakur et a/.(2001). There were 15 numbers

of fungal species isolated from rhizosphere soil and 9 numbers from non-rhizosphere

soil. Ramesh and Patil (2002) reported the fungal diversity of rhizosphere of cotton

(Gossypium sp.) o f Dharwad, Karnataka A total 45 species belonging to 24 genera

were isolated. More fungal population were found in rainy season and least number

were obtained in winter season. Ramesh et al. (2004) reported the fungal diversity of

rhizosphere ofLevender plantation in Dharwad. Over61 species, 31 genera were isolated

from different samples o f soil of different seasons. The most common genera viz.

Rhizopus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Curvularia and Trichoderma were showed their

adaptability for all the seasons and isolated through out the year.

Microbial population from rhozosphere and non-rhizosphere soil in different

seasons o f Pigonpea was studied by Upadhya and Pandey (2006). They reported that

the fungal population increased in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil in general

December to February, particularly in case of Aspergillus and penicillium It is due to

the soil temperature which increases from December to February and at moderate

temperature (February) microbial activity is much more than cool temperature,

December.

Cavaglieri et a/.(2007) reported that influence o f plant growth o f maize in

23
different stages were depend upon the affect o f rhizobial community in the field. They

further established the density, diversity and community structure rhizosphere and

nonrhizosphere mycoflora of the field in relation with growth o f maize plants.

Aboudrar et al. (2007) studied the soil microbial diversity affected by

rhizosphere in Talaspi caerulescens under natural condition. They reported that

rhizosphere soil harbour wide varieties of microorganisms. Rhizosphere mycoflora

equally effect on metabolic activities o f Talaspi caerulescens with rhizosphere bacterial

community as a result the plant could be produced tolerance capacity against the diseases.

Sing et a l (2007) studied the microbial community in rhizosphere and non

rhizosphere structure in grass land soil. They reported that both bacterial and fungal

community influenced the plant growth which were abundantly recorded from

rhizosphere soil. Least number of microbial community harbour from the nonrhizosphere

area o f grass land soil.

Variation of air mycoflora in different seasons and heights

Air is the natural media for air bom organisms, which contains a large

numbers o f micro-organisms in transport state.Cumminghum(l 873) first studied the

air born micro-organism by air sampling method in India, gradually worked by

Schoenawar (1876) and Miquel (1877- 99) at Paris. Analysis o f air spora has usually

been made by exposing nutrient petri plat (Bernstein & Feinberg 1942, Hyde and William

1945 &53). Atmospheric spore concentration fluctuate with the change of time, weather,

season and different height o f the plants (Newhall, 1960).

Chadwani and Padmanabhan (1963) reported the occurrence o f aerobiology

o f paddy field in different period. They further reported that season affect on occurrence

o f aerospora, profoundly Cladosporium and Alternaria shows the seasonal variation

which was related with temperature and relative humidity. Investigation of atmospheric

air spora in tea plants was done in different seasons and height by Bordoloi anf Barua

24
(1964) and reported that Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, Curvularia, Cladosporium,

Phytopthora, Mucor and Pestaloptia were dominant fungal species. Seasons influence

on occurrence of these fungi and concentration o f spore gradually decreased by increasing

o f height. Hamilton (1968) reported that Penicillium may show little seasonal changes,

it may even been more plentiful in winter than in summer season in coffee plantation

field. According to her, the rainfall had no positive effect on the atmosphere concentration

o f hyalin basidiospores. Concentration o f pollen and fungal spore gradually decline

with increasing rain. It has been also reported that the concentration o f air spores were

significantly influenced by increase o f temperature, relative humidity (Konger and Barua,

1970)

Langenberg et, a/.(1977) reported that the pollen grain o f higher plants and

fungal spore like, Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp. Smut, Rust, are most commonly

found in air, but gradually diminish in quantity due to prolonged heavy rainfall. Wind is

a most important agent for dissemination o f spores, increased o f wind velocity

significantly decreased the concentration of spore in particular place.

Barua (1991) reported that the occurrence o f air microflora in sal tree in

different seasons and height o f the plants in South Kamrup district, Assam.She reported

that occurrence o f different mycoflora were depend upon the different climatic factors.

The occurrence o f fungal population was generally more in 6ft height and gradually

decreased by increase o f the height. However, maximum micro fungi were recorded

during rainy season and followed by autumn and spring season least occurrence was

recorded during winter period. Sing (1994) studied the Cercospora leaf spot o f broad

bean caused by Cercospora zonata in Manipur. He reported that the incidence and

spread o f leaf spot disease was maximum when there was maximum concentration of

Cercospora conidia in air over the test field during February to April.

Sing et al. (1999) studied the indoor aeromycoflora o f grain storage at

Udaypur in different seasons and reported that at indoor environment consists o f higher

25
percentage of Aspergillus sp. but more in August to November. The study was confirmed

by Pugalmaran and Vittal (2000) that Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. were two most

predominant air borne conidial type encountered in grain storage during August to

November and gradually it recorded in decline trend in other period.

Sharma and Bhattachaqyee (2001) studied the nature o f occurrence of

aeromycoflora in Banana plants in Kamrup district in separate seasons. He reported

that Altemaria, Cercospora. Aspergillus, Botrydiploidia, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Mucor,

Penicillium were dominant species and occurred throughout the year. But highest load

were recorded during August to September, which gradually declines towards the last

part of January. Sahny and Purwar (2002) studied the aeromycoflora in Allahabad

University campus in different seasons and reported that during the investigation a total

525 fungal colonies belonging to 15 genera were identified from indoor atmosphere.

Out of this 86.66 percent o f genera were belonged to Deuteromycotina and rest 13.33

percent were to Zygomycotina. Maximum fungal colonies were recorded in rainy summer

season.

Sharma and Dutta (2002) studied the aeromycoflora o f Jute plants in Silchar

area and reported that a total 22 fungal forms belonging to 15 genera were isolated and

identified. Among 15 genera 39 percent belonged to Aspergillus sp. and 16.45 belonged

to Penicillius sp. Rest o f genera included Altemaria sp., Humicola sp., Curvularia sp.,

Cladosporium sp., Nigrospora sp., Geotrichum sp., Trichoderma sp., Torula sp. and

Fusarium sp.

Romesh, et al, (2003) studied the occurrence o f airspora in different seasons

and plant height in Lavender plantation in Dharward, Karnataka. They reported that

Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Mucor sp., Curvularia sp., Torula sp., Altemaria sp.

and Fusarium sp. were air borne mycoflora and these fungi were adaptable in all the

seasons up to the height o f 10ft.

Kasprzyk et al. (2004) reported that the fungal spore concentration was

26
always depend upon the different atmospheric conditions. They further reported that

bright sunshine and less wind days during October to December maximum spore loads

were found in Rzeszow and similarly less spore load were obtained in January to April.

Das, et al.(2005) studied the seasonal variation o f fungal air spora in muga

food plant soalu in different heights o f the plants. They reported that maximum fungal

spora was recorded in rainy - summer and minimum during winter season. Maximum

air spora was obtained up to 6ft height and gradually decreasing trend by increasing of

height.

Stepaiska, D. and Wolek, J. (2006) reported that variation of fungal spore

concentrations in taxa associated areas of Poland was depend upon the weather condition.

The bright sunny days and optimum temperature in between 27-31 °C in Crascow areas

produced highest number spores concentration in air.

Giorgio et al.(2006) studied on air borne microflora in the city o f Marseilles

and reported that air borne microflora which increased a log-normal distribution in

Marseilles was found large variability. Air borne bacteria increased with temperature

and wind velocity where as air borne fungi increased with temperature and varied with

wind direction in urban and natural areas. They further reported that on qualitative and

quantitative analysis o f air borne microflora it gradually increased o f global air borne

microorganisms and more particularly gram negative bacteria in urban area.

Kasprazyk and Worek (2007) studied the concentration o f air fungal spora

in Poland city and country side areas. The result showed that the country side areas the

frequency of occurrence o f fungi in rural are was more than 50%. The isolated most

common species were Cladosporium, Botrytis, Ganoderma and Torula which were

significantly higher in the rural areas.

Variation of leaf surface mycoflora in different seasons

The presence of fungi on the aerial surface o f the plants had already been

27
recognized. Although most emphasis has been made on study o f fungal pathogens on

leaves, stem and fruits, saprophytic fungi were recorded more than a century ago. Interest

in saprophytic leaf surface microorganisms has been a recent trend o f study. Last (1955)

studied the distribution o f member of the Sporobolomycetaceae on wheat and barly in

Britain. Ruinen (1956) investigated the occurrence o f Beijerinckia, a nitrogen fixing

bacteria on leaves o f Indonesia These two works independently introduced the term

‘Phyllosphere’ to describe the leaf-surface habit. Although the other workers were

examining the fungi on aerial parts o f the plants at that time, they mainly directed their

investigations to the mycoflora o f dead leaves and inflorescence axes. Subsequently,

Last and Deigton (1965) reviewed in details on habit and development o f leaf surface

mycoflora in perennial plants.

Recently a large number of workers had taken up interest on phylloplane

mycoflora in different plants. Vankatashwaralu and Monoharachary (1976) studied on

leaf surface microflora of some oil yielding and medicinal plants out of two oil seed

crop i.e. Helianthus and Sesamum indicant and one medicinal plant i.e. Adhatoda vesica

maximum number of fungi were recorded in phyllosphere of Helianthus. The isolated

fungi were Aspergillus niger, A. candidus, A. terms, A.fumigatus, Alternaria alternata,

Cladosporium herbarum and Penicillium lilacinum.

Kumar and Gupta (1976) isolated the phyllosphere mycoflora of three potato

varieties in relation to microclimatic and meteorological factors. They found the total

population of mycoflora differ due to variation of environmental conditions and other

factors. It was evident from their results that there is a gradual increase in the population

of microorganisms on both the young and old leaves with the increase o f age of the

plants. The results also indicated that the highest population o f fungi and other bacteria

on young and old leaves were recorded during the month o f January when the plants

were 90 days old and gradually the population were decreased due to increase the age

o f plants.

28
 Cox and Hall (1978) studies on occurrence and behaviour of microfungi of

Quercus robur (oak tree). They reported that the occurrence o f different colonies (in 50

mm2) o f microfungi were depend upon the age and difference o f the tree. The old tree

showed maximum numbers o f fungal colonies as compared with the young tree.

However, Sharma and Gupta (1984) studied the phyllosphere mycoflora o f brown

sarson in relation to climatic factors and cultivers. They recommended that with the

advance in season from December (moderately cold-humid) to March (Temperate

day)the population o f microorganisms/100 cm2showed an increase and touch in peak

in the month o f March. The total phyllosphere mycoflora o f all three varieties were

increased with the fall o f temperature and increase in relative humidity.

Garg and Sharma (1987) made an attempt to observed possible consistent

in the difference between phylloplane microfungi of non-infected and rust infected

cleaves o f both barley and triticale supported distinct fungal flora (population). On both

barley and triticale, beside the group o f fungi restricted to either types o f leaves, there

were also micro fungi, although common in both non-infected and rust infected leaves.

These microfungi were predominant on either types of leaves.

Thakur et al. (1987) studied the leaf surface mycoflora of Azadirachta

indica. They isolated maximum fungal population on le af washing method.

Cunninghamella echinulata was present only on dorsal side o f leaflet during October.

Species o f Fusarium were present up to November and they totally disappeared in

other months. In December and January dark colour sterile forms were dominant.

Leaf surface microflora o f healthy and diseased plant of Solarium khasianum

was studied by Sharma and Tiwari (1988) and the investigators reported that maximum

filamentous fungi were found on diseased leaves, where as maximum yeast and bacteria

were observed on healthy leaves. On the other hand, some fungal species were found

common in both healthy and diseased leaves. Sing et al,(1990) isolated microfungi

associated with non-infected and infected leaves of Colocasia antiquorum. They isolated

29
a total 30 fungal species belonging to various group o f fungi. The major group of fungi

common in healthy and blight infected leaves. Their results indicated that a group of

fungi ,ie. Actinomucor repens, Aspergillus terms, Cuvularia tuberculata, Fusarium

sp. were present in non-infected leaves while Colletotrichum sp., Humicola brevis, and

Nigrospora were confirmed to blight infected leaves.

Sharma et al. (1992) made a quantitative and qualitative analysis o f

phylloplane microflora of yellow sarson and tamarina in relation to microclimatic factors.

They found that the population of microplane microbes o f both the host i.e. yellow

sarson and tamarina decreased from November onwards up to January (very cold humid

season) with a simultaneous fall o f temperature and increase in relative humidity but

later a reverse trend was observed during February with the peak population and an

increase of temperature as well as relative humidity. The fungi were the dominant

followed by bacteria and Actinomycetes.

Barua et al. (1998) studied on occurrence o f leaf myeoflora in som plant at

lower Assam during different rearing seasons at tender, semi-tender and mature leaves.

They reported that though several groups o f fungus isolated, but Aspergillusfumigatus

was found as dominant species.

Seasonal incidence of phylloplane myeoflora o f guava (Psidium guajava)

was studied by Pandey and Dwivedi (2000). They observed a remarkable change in the

phylloplane myeoflora with the maturity o f leaves in different seasons. The maximum

fungal population was recorded by them in rainy and minimum in summer season. The

overall seasonal patterns of isolation from infected and non-infected materials were

similar. However, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Paecilomyces sp. were most dominant

in summer. On the other hand, Aureobasidoum pullalans, Ascocyta, Fusarium

sp., Curvularia sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides were extensively present in rainy

season. During winter, Cladosporium, Pestolatia, Cephalosporium were dominant and

Phoma were dominant in rainy season.

30
 Phylloplane mycoflora o f green and dead stored leaves o f three grasses

namely, Heteropogon contortus, Themeda anathera and Setaria glauca was studied by

Adhikari, (2002). He reported appearance of different fungal species was depend on the

climatic condition as well as biochemical nature of the substrate. The fungal population

was less during the period o f December, January and February, while highest was

recorded during August and September.

Bora et a l (2004) studied the occurrence o f Phylloplane mycoflora o f three

mung bean in different growing seasons. They observed that fungal population were

increased with the increased o f age o f the plant. Maximun occurrence o f fungal species

was observed during November to December ie, at the time o f harvesting.

Das at al.{2005) studied on occurrence o f leaf surface mycoflora in soalu

plant during different muga silkworm rearing period in three different leaves such as,

tender, semi-tender and mature leaves. They reported that maximum fungal population

harvested in mature leaves in all the seasons but among the season spring crop trap

highest number o f fungi. Aspergillus Jumigatus was found as dominant species and

occurred throughout the year.

Steven, et al. (2007) reported that the aerial plant surface harbour large

numbers of microbs some of which are deleterious to plants where as others are beneficial

to the plants. Among the different aerial microorganims baceria and fungal community

were found more especially on the leaf surface. Broad and long leaves harbour more

microorganisms and may be induced to protect the leaves from various diseases.

Seed mycoflora and its management

Soil mycoflora and rhizosphere mycoflora exhibit a closed relationship

with seed mycoflora. Mycoflora o f seeds are derived from the soil and rhizosphere

region through the internal tissue system. Many investigators had also reported that

some fungi colonized associated with the seed coat o f the seed from the soil. Association

31
of certain fungi with seeds have been reported by various workers (Flanningan 1969;

Christensen and Linko 1970; Lambat 1976). Majority o f fungi found in or on the tissue

of the seeds are either as parasitic or saprophytic or in symbiosis condition. Parasitic

fungi frequently contaminate the seeds and carrying over the fungus from seed to the

next generation (Doyer 1967). Some fungi associated with the seed coats which cause

the loss of germination capacity o f seed.

Khere et al (1972) isolated the seed borne fungi o f kheari seeds. They

reported that the seed borne fungi effect on viability o f seeds and reduced the seed

germination percentage. They further reported that 0.3 percent thiram or Ararson GN

was effective for control o f these fungi. Jamaluddin (1980) isolated the varieties of

mycoflora from the seeds of sal tree in storage condition.

Similar report was observed by Baruah (1991) in sal seeds o f Kamrup district

Aspergillus Jlavus, A. niger Curvularia lunata, Helminthosporium, Mucor hiemalis,

Penucillium, Trichoderma viride were external borne fungi in sal tree seeds and these

fungi can be contained by using of 0.2 percent Bavistin.

Ramanathan (1989) reported the hot water leaf extract o f Eucalyptus

microtheca inhibited more than 50 percent against the brinjal damping off pathogen.

On the other hand, the cold water extract inhibited less than 17.8 percent inhibition

only. It was also recorded that Berrya. Cordifolia which was highly effective (65%) as

hot water extract and failed to inhibit the inhibitory effect as cold water extract. The

cold water and hot water leaf extracts therefore found to vary in their inhibitory effect.

Prasad and Shrivendra (1994) reported that 24 different seed mycoflora

were recorded during storage of paddy seeds in different storage system. Among the

different fungal species Aspergillus flavus and Penicilliun sp. were recorded in all the

system of storage which effect the seed germination process. However, Kulbe and

Harbola (1997) studied on occurrence o f seed mycoflora o f cauliflower and cabbage.

They reported that a total 24 species were isolated from 6 seed sample o f cauliflower

32
and cabbage. The occurrence ranged was recorded from 1 to 21 percent, Fusarium

moniforme was detected from all the seed sample which caused rotting o f seeds, and

lead to curling, stunting, wilting, yellowish and defoliation o f leaves. Bavistin was

found most effective to control o f the fungi.

Literature on soaking o f tomato seeds in 20 percent leaf extract of

Bougainville^ glaba or Piper betle for 6 h before sowing increased germination by 75

percent over control, when rice seeds carrying Helminthosporium oryzae were immerged

for 24h in 20 percent water extract o f pudina leaves ox Allium sativum. There were four

fold increase of germination and seed infection were reduced by 86 percent, root length

was doubled and shoot length was increased by 50 percent (Sivaprakasm,1994).

Sivaprakasam and Seetharaman (1994) reported that dipping of banana hands

in neem oil 1.0 percent emulsion or 10 percent Ocimum leaf extract for three minutes

recorded least infection by Collototrichum musae and Botrydiplodia theobromae and

enhanced storage life. Banana dipping in 1.0 percent neem oil recorded 12 percent

infection after 10 days where as control fruits recorded 92.4 percent percent after 5 days

Tamuli and Baruah (2001) isolated the seed myeoflora o f agar wood plant

(.Aquilaria malaccensis) and reported that Aspergillus niger,Chaetomonium globosum,

Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium sp„ Rhizopus stolonifer were most common fungal

species. The seed myeoflora were effectively controlled by fungicide Dithane M-45.

Galhot et al (2002) reported that Aspergillus flavus, A. niger Curvularia

lunata, Helminthosporium, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium, and Trichoderma viride were

dominant external seed borne fungi adversely effect on colour, oil content and

germination o f mustard and tarmarina seeds. These microfungi can be controlled by

using o f 0.3 percent concentration o f Indofil M -45

Das and Das(2002) studied the seed myeoflora of Muga and Eri food plants,

namely, som, soalu, castor and kesseru seeds. They reported that there were seven species

and five genera were isolated in both the methods end Alternari sp., Aspergillusflavus,

33
A. niger, Curvularia lunata,Fusarium monoliforme, Fusarium sp., Mucor sp. were

observed in all four types o f seeds.

Das and Das(2004) isolated the seed fungi o f muga food plant mejankari

(Litsaea citrata Blume). They reported that there were 14 external and 10 internal seed

borne fungal species recorded, which injure the seeds and also give negative impact on

germination. They further recommended that 0.3 percent concentration o f Indofil M -

45 can effectively control these seed borne fungi.

Ahmed et a/.(2006) studied on effect o f Cleome droserifolia shoot extract

on its seed germination and seedling growth. The results showed that due to effect o f

Cleome droserifolia shoot extract almost all seed fungi were controlled and enhanced

the seed germination up to 97% against control 69%.

Vinoy et al. (2007) reported on organic agent for the management o f seed

borne fungi in sorghum. After experimental study they confirmed that by using o f 0.3%

concentration o f Dravya for soaking o f sorghum seeds for 12 hr it effect on seed

germination and controlled almost seed borne fungi. They further recommended that

Dravya o f 0.3% with Mancozeb M-45 in combination resulted was maximum percentage

o f seed germination and seedling vigour and reduce the incidence o f seed mycoflora.

Effect of culture filtrates on seed germination

Germination o f seed take place after its fully matured but in some cases the

growth is suspended because o f its lack o f favourable environmental condition. Generally

seeds will germinate if they are provided with water and suitable temperature. In some cases

the seeds would not germinate even provided with water and maintained the suitable

temperature also. The percentage o f germination o f seeds and their growth not only depend

on the edaphic factor but also influence by prevailing biotic factor, ie. soil ecosystem. It is

known that soil microbes show the inhibitory effect on the growth and germination o f seeds

and there are certain types o f fungi which could accelerated the germination process o f seeds.

34
 T e v e it a n d M o o re (1 9 5 4 ) h a d s u g g e s te d th a t th e in h ib itio n o f see d

g e rm in a tio n m a y a ls o b e d u e to to x ic e ffe c t o f m e ta b o lite s p ro d u c e d b y th e seed

m y c o flo ra . I t w a s o b s e r v e d th a t s e v e ra l m y e o to x in s a x e h e ld r e s p o n s ib le f o r in h ib itio n

o f g e r m in a tio n o f s e e d s ( M e h a n a n d C h o h a n ,1 9 7 3 ) . M is h r a , ( 1 9 7 7 ) a n d R e is s , (1 9 7 8 )

re p o rte d m a rk e d in h ib ito ry e ffe c t o n th e g e n n in a b ility o f s e e d s d u e to a fla to x in s p ro d u c e d

b y A s p e r g illu s s p . A c c o rd in g to G ib s o n (1 9 8 0 ) o x a lic a c id p ro d u c e d b y A s p e r g illu s

n ig e r in th e m e ta b o lit c o u ld b e m a jo r fa c to r fo r re d u c tio n o f g e rm in a tio n o f g r o u n d n u t

S in g a n d P rasa d (1 9 8 1 ) re p o rte d th a t th e in c re a s e d in n u m b e r o f seed

g e rm in a tio n m a y p ro b a b ly d u e to th e s e c re tio n o f a u x in lik e s u b s ta n c e p ro d u c e d b y

fu n g a l c u ltu re filtra te . A c c o rd in g to th e m th e c u ltu re filtra te o f fu n g i lik e C u r v u la r ia

lu n a ta a n d A lte r n a r ia a lte r n a ta s ig n ific a n tly in c r e a s e d th e r o o t le n g th .

V is h n u v a t a n d S h u k la (1 9 8 1 ) h a d a ls o re p o rte d th a t m a x im u m in c re a s e o f

r o o t le n g th o f le n t! s e e d w a s r e c o r d e d d u e to tr e a tm e n t o f s e e d s w ith c u ltu r e f iltr a te o f

C u r v u la r ia lu n a ta . B h o w m ic k a n d D as (1 9 8 5 ) s tu d ie d th e e ffe c t o f m e ta b o lite s o n

g e rm in a tio n o f s e e d s w ith c u ltu re filtra te s o f s e e d b o rn e m ic ro fu n g i. T h e y fu r th e r re p o rte d

th a t th e re a re h ig h ly in h ib ito ry e ffe c ts o n g e rm in a tio n o f a ll th e th r e e k in d s o f s e e d s ,

b u t th e d e g re e o f in h ib itio n , a s a ffe c te d b y d iffe re n t m e ta b o lite s , v a rie d w id e ly o n e a c h

ty p e o f s e e d s a s a ls o o f th e m e ta b o lite s o n d iffe re n t k in d s o f s e e d s . S in g h e t a /.(1 9 8 6 )

o b serv ed th e e ffe c t o f c u ltu re filtra te s o f seed m y c o flo ra o f so y b ea n u p o n th e seed

g e rm in a tio n . A c o n s id e ra b le p o s itiv e re s u lts w e re re c o rd e d b y th e m o n s e e d g e rm in a tio n

a s w e ll a s , r o o t le n g th a n d s e e d lin g g ro w th .

G u n e s h e k a r e t a l.( 1 9 9 7 re p o rte d in m u lb e rry s e e d g e rm in a tio n a n d s e e d lin g

g ro w th th a t th e s e a re g re a tly in flu e n c e b y th e to x ic m e ta b o lite s p ro d u c e d b y p a th o g e n ic

fu n g i. T h e y h a v e e ith e r in h ib ito ry o r s tim u la to ry e ffe c t o n s e e d g e rm in a tio n .

P a r th e s h k u m a r a n d V ijy a n (1 9 9 9 ) s tu d ie d th e e ffe c ts o f e x tra c ts o f d iffe re n t

p la n ts o n s e e d g e rm in a tio n a n d s e e d lin g g ro w th o f m u lb e rry . T h e y re p o r te d th a t d u e to

to x ic e ffe c t o f m e ta b o lite s o f A Ite r n a r ia a lte r n a ta th e g e rm in a tio n p e rc e n ta g e w a s in c re a s e d

3 5
 significantly and also sin creased the root length.

Ali et al. (2003) reported that germination o f Bhindi seeds was greatly
I

influence by the culture filtrates o f rhizosphere fungi. They investigated that some toxis

produced by tire seed borne fungi which reduce the germination, root and shoot

elongation. Further, they resulted that maximum inhibition o f germination o f seeds o f

two varieties was recorded when the seeds were treated with the culture filtrates o f

Aspergillus niger and minimum inhibition was recorded with the culture filtrate o f

Trichoderma viride soaked for different periods.

Biochemical composition of healthy and diseased leaf

The nutrition o f silkworm is entirely depend upon the quality o f leaves. The

health and growth o f the silkworm larvae as well as cocoon production and raw silk

quality are influence by the condition o f the leaves. A high nutritive value in leaf increases

the resistance o f the silkworm against the diseases and produces the good numbers o f

cocoons. Jolly et al. (1974) analyzed the food plants o f tasar silkworm and reported that

minimum crude fibre occurred in Terminalia arjuna (7.71% ) and maxim um in

Lagerstoemia parviflora (20%).

Yadava and Goswami (1992) analyzed the folier constituents o f som, and

soaluandalso recorded significantly highest total minerals, crude, fat and starch contents.

Similarly, soalu recorded significantly high values for total nitrogen and crude protein

as against som. Variation between som and soalu for moisture, organic carbon, crude

fibre and sugars were not significant. Umesh kumer (1992) observed reduction im protein

content o f Shorea robusts leaves affected by leaf spot disease. The protein and crude

fibre are significantly less in infected leaves as compare with healthy leaves.

Som leaves are relatively rich in pectin and its quantity is more or less

equal to that o f crude fibre and ash content. Hazarika et. al ( l 995) determined the quality

o f som leaves for rearing o f muga silk worm and found that there was significant variation

36
in soluble protein, soluble sugar and total phenol. Better rearing performance was

recorded in ecotypes having highest amount o f soluble protein and phenol.

Singha et al. (1992) reported that among all the three primary food plants o f

tasar silkworm (Antheraea mylita), Terminalia tomentosa was better than Terminala

arjuna and Shorea robusta in respect of moisture, total nitrogen and total mineral

contents. Pandey et al. (1993) reported higher larval weight in current shoots than the

aging shoot o f oak tasar food plants as current shoot contains higher percentage o f

moisture and proteins, on the other hand leaves o f aging shoots contain more amount o f

carbohydrate and crude fibers. Sharma and Sharma (1993) reported that the reduction

o f amino acids content in blight infected leaves and also infected mulberry plants could

be due to their utilization by the pathogen or degradation by enzyme.

Anowar et al. (1995) also reported that the phenolic content o f infected

leaves showed marked reduction in sorghum and maize plants and also total sugar

content was drastically decreased. Majumder et al. (1996) analyzed the diseased and

healthy mulberry leaves for individual sugars. They reported that sucrose is the major

constituent followed by glucose and fructose. They also observed diurnal rhythm in

contents of sucrose fractions in mulberry leaves. It was lowest in the morning in both

diseased and healthy leaves and highest in the evening. They further indicated that the

concentration o f sucrose was highest in healthy mature leaves and it was significantly

lower in diseased mature leaves. Kakaty and Hazarika (1997) reported in significant

variation in dry lipid contents in the host plant o f muga silkworm. Som leaf contains

highest amount o f lipids (10-20%) followed by soalu (8.2%) and lowest amount (7.5%)

was recorded in mejankari.

Dutta et al. (1999) reported variation in nutritional constituents in four

different food plants o f muga silkworm, A. assama. Bio-chemically the diseased leaves

are poor in proteins, sugars and moisture. Feeding such leaves to silkworms has been

found to adverse affect the health of the larvae and resulting in poor yield in production.

37
The biochem ical param eters like, sugar, chlorophyll, am ino acids, total soluble proteins

and reducing sugars are differes in healthy and diseased leaves in all silk w orm s food

plants(Shree and Chandraram m a, 1999).

M ajum der et al. (2003) studied the ascorbic acid content in healthy and
diseased leaves o f m ulberry silkw orm food plants. H e reported that healthy mulberry

food plants contains higher concentration o f ascorbic acid (2.274% ) com parison to the

disease leaves (1.88% ) w hich are not feed by silkworm.

Kofalvia and N assuth (2006) reported the biochemical changes o f com plants

infected by stunt phytoplasm a. They reported that due to infection o f disease causing

agent chlorophyll a,b., amino acid, protein, sugar reduced drastically where as phenol

content increased proportionately.

Kofalvi et al(2007) studied the biochemical changes o f virus infected wheat

leaves. They reported that due to infection o f m osaic virus the biochem ical products

which was synthesized by le a f drastically reduced. H ow ever the phenolic content is

increased significantly due to production by the pathogen.

Management of leaf spot disease of Som plant

In Sericulture industry, nutritionally rich and high yielding variety o f food

plants are required. Such type o f food plants are always threatened by various folier

diseases, pests and others (A nonym ous,1962). Bio-chem ically diseased leaves are poor

in proteins, sugars and m oisture. Feeding such leaves to m uga silkworm s has been

found to be adversely affect the growth and health o f larvae resulting in poor yield o f

cocoons.

a. Effect of different fungicides on controlling of foliar diseases

Generally chemical fungicides were used for controlling o f different diseases

since last two decades. It is an easy conventional method practiced by the farming community.

38
 Sukumar et al. (1993) reported that pruning o f plants can prevent the

incidence and intensity o f the diseases. Spraying o f Carbendazim or Benlate at 0.25-

0.50 percent can effectively control the leaf spot disease o f mulberry silkworm food

plants (Siddaramaiah et al. 1978). Kumar et al. (1993) reported that, the foliar diseases

can be effectively controlled by successively two spray of 0.2 percent Foltaf or Mancozeb

at 10-15 days intervals. However, Phillip etal. (1994) confirmed that Carbendazim has

proved to be more effective when sprayed twice at 15 days intervals with a waiting

period 10 days before feeding o f mulberry silkworms.

Devanath, et al. (1994) screened the different fungicides for controlling of

leaf blight disease o f guava plant. All five fungicides were found to be superior to

control in preventing the disease incidence and among the fimgicides, Dithane M-45

recorded the lowest disease incidence and highest yield, Sukumar et al. (1994) studied

the effectiveness o f 0.1 to 0.2 percentage Carbendazim on local mulberry varieties and

confirmed that 0.1 to 0.2 percentage Carbendazim was highly effective on leaf spot and

leaf rust pathogen o f this mulberry silkworm food plant.

Guneshekar, et al. (1995) studied the efficacy o f different fungicides on

control of leaf rust disease of mulberry food plant. He reported that out of 7 fungicides

tested, Foltaf 0.2 percent reduced the maximum percent (16.29%) o f disease incidence

and checked the disease to 49,52 percent over control. Foltaf 0.1 percent and Kavach at

both concentrations were almost on par with other in their effectiveness and checked

the disease incidence up to 41.23 and 44.24 percent over un sprayed plots.

Yokoyama (1996) reported the effectiveness of Bordeaux mixture for disease

control o f Powdery mildew in field condition. Dinocap at 0.1 percent and Morestan at

0.025 and 0.050 percent were found to be effective for blight disease. Residual toxicity

o f Dinocap lasted for 10 days while Morestan was free from any toxicity to silkworm

(Iyenger, 1995).

39
 Dusting o f sulphur suspension or lime sulphur mixture on the back of the

leaves was found effective in controlling o f powdery mildew disease (Sukumar et al.

1999). Gunashekar and Govindaiah (1999) reported that Carbendazim and Captan @

0.1-0.2 percent either individually or in combination is most effective to control of

powdery mildew disease in mulberry plants as well as leaf rust, which is one o f the

major disease o f mulberry food plant.

Das and Benchamin (2000) reported that leaf spot, leaf blight, leaf rust and

leaf curl am the main foliar diseases o f muga food plant som, Percea bombycina Kost

and occurred throughout the year. On the other hand, leaf spot, Altemaia blight, seedling

blight and leaf rust of eri silkworm food plant castor can be controlled by spraying of

0.1 percent Bavistin 3 times at 15 days interval.

Govindaiah et al (2002) reported the similar effect o f different fungicides

in mulberry food plants. They reported that two sprays o f Foltaf or Kavach @ 0.2%

concentration can reduce the leaf rust severity up to 50 percent, starting from initial

appearance of disease. However, the fungicide sprayed leaves can be used for silkworm

rearing even after first day o f spray.

Shivapuru and Gupta (2002) worked on evaluation of different fungicides

against the leaf spot disease o f mustard plant. They selected six fungicides namely,

Antracol, Bavistin, Blitox-50, Dithanw M-45, Topsin- M and Celest and found that 0.2

percent Bavistin, and Topsin- M were most.

Das and Das (2003) reported the detail study o f Grey blight diseases of som

plant. The disease can be contained by spraying o f 0.1 percent Bavistin 3 times at 15

days interval before peak infection o f the disease. Das et al. (2005), stated that, Powdery

mildew is one o f the major disease o f eri silk worm food plant castor and the disease

was controlled by spraying o f Captan @ 2g in per liter o f water before 15 days of

harvesting o f leaves.

40
 Joshi et al. (2004) stated that Powdeiy mildews, leaf spot, leaf curl are major

foliar disease o f tasar silkworm food plant. Powdery mildew can be controlled by using

0.03 percent Karathane or 0.2 percent sulfex for three times at an interval of 25 days,

Leaf spot can be controlled by three times spray of fungicides like Zineb 0.15 to 0.2

percent or Blitox 0.5 percent at an interval o f 10 to 15days. Leaf curl can be contained

spraying o f copper sulphate @ 175ppm three times at an interval o f 15 days or by

spraying o f any other copper containing fungicides like Blitox @ 0.5 percent at same

days o f interval.

Quadri et a/.(2004) tested various fungicides for controlling o f leaf spot

disease in mulberry silkworm food plant. Out of that Foltaf (0.1%) and Kavach (0.1%)

at both the concentrations were almost at per with each other in their effectiveness and

check the disease incidence up to 41.60 to 44.24 percent over unsprayed plots. Besides,

these two fungicides reducing the disease incidence and improved the leaf yield up to

28% over the control. However, Bavistin which is effective for control of leaf spot and •

powdery mildew is not effective for leaf rust control.

Biswas and Sing (2005) worked on management of foliar disease of ground

nut at ICAR, Tripura. They considered the combinations of carbendazim and mancozeb,

carbendazim and tridemoph, carbndazim and COC mixing in two solutions in 1:1 (v/v)

ratio, which minimized the leaf spot disease in the field. The intensity of former two

combinations was at par with disease intensity observed with carbendazim alone.

Simultaneously, rust intensity was less that with carbendazim for all the treatments of

combination solutions. The most effective combination o f fungicides for controlling of

leaf spot and rust diseases was carbendazim and tridemoph mixture.

Jorgensen and Olsen (2007) reported that spot disease of wheat in Denmark

is caused by Drechslera tritici-repentis. Due to application o f 0.2% Dithan M-45

significantly reduced the disease severity up to 84% with the application o f cultural

practices in the field.

41
 Vereijessen et a/. (2007) reported the Cercospora leaf spot o f sugar beet and

tried to control the disease by application o f different fungicides. Among the different

fungicides Foltaf (0.1%) and Bavistin(0.2%) effectively control the disease up to 83-

86%. They further reported that field sanitation is one o f the important positive factor

for controlling o f disease in field level.

b. Effect of different plant extracts on controlling of foliar diseases

Many plant products have been identified to be effective in the control o f

plant diseases. In view o f high cost o f chemical and pesticides and their hazardous

consequences, use o f biodegradable materials such as plant products are gaining

importance in crop protection, in view o f their selective properties and safety to ecosystem

(Ahmed and Grainge,1982; M itra et al, 1984; Jespers and Wards,1993). Among the

5280 plant species tested, 1134, 346, 92 and 90 plant species possessed insecticidal,

fungicidal, bactericidal and antiviral properties (Grainge and Ahmed, 1988).

Agarwala, (1989) reported that Allium sativum is known to have good

antifungal activities and effect the disease cells in various ways. There are three possible

mode o f action o f plant extracts in controlling o f diseases namely, anti pathogenic action,

growth promotion o f beneficial microorganisms and induction o f disease resistance.

(Yokoyama et al, 1991).

Singh et al.( 1991) studied on effect o f extract o f Zigiber officinale on

powdery mildew disease o f mulberry plant. They found that effect o f extract o f Zigiber

officinale on powdery mildew was highly effective with out any adverse effect on

silkworm rearing. Further it was seen that it improved the cocoon quality also. Neem

(A. indica) is abundantly grown in any where, widely known for its antifungal activities

in all parts o f the plant and it control most o f the fungal diseases o f leaves, seeds and

roots (Achimu and SchIoesse,1992; Hossain and Schloesser,1993).

42
 Sarvamangala et al. (1993) used the extract on neem, parthenium and some

other plant extracts against the control of leaf spot and leaf rust diseases o f mulberry

food plant. It was observed that neem and parthenium significantly reduced the per cent

disease index (PDI) in leaf spot and rust diseases. On the other hand, the effect o f other

plant extracts on controlling o f diseases were not under consideration.

Antifungal activities o f plant extracts of plant species comprising various

medicinal plants at 5 percent concentration was tested against the leaf blight o f litchi

plant in poisoned food technique. The result revealed that the leaf extract of Polyantha

longifolia was superior to others and mean inhibition was recorded to 56.8 percent

followed by Parthenium hysterophorus which showed 50.5 Carica papaya and Ixora

grandifolia produced almost similar result and no inhibitory effect was recorded

Desmodium purpureum and Magifera indica (Narayan and Shivaprakesh, 1994)

Ganapaty, andNarayanaswamy (1994) reported that the plant species tested

in different concentrations of neem oil, young neem leaf, neem seed and neem cake

were most effective in inhibition o f spore germination o f Phaeoisariopsis personata

and Puceinia arachidis. The extracts from leaves of nerium, eucalypatus, periwinkle,

garlic bulb extracts also effective in inhibition of spore germination of both the fungi.

Biswas et al. (1995) studied the initial effect on few plant species like

Azadirachta indica and Adhatoda zeylanica for controlling o f powdery mildew disease

of mulberry food plants and further reported that the fresh extracts o f these two plants

were effective to control o f disease 74.3 and 57.6 percent respectively.

Phillip and Sharma, (1999) evaluated the effect o f extracts of leaf and oil

cake of neem and karanj against the mulberry root rot pathogens. Neem leaf extract at

10 and 20 percent concentration was also effective in inhibition o f spore production of

F oxysporum. followed by karanj cake extract at 20 percent concentration which inhibite

the spore production by 43.5 percent.

43
 Lokesh et al. (1999) studied on activities of cold and hot water leaf extracts

of certain plant species on Aspergillus flavus. They reported that some leaf extracts

were effective in cold water extract while others were effective in hot water extracts

alone which could be attributed to variation in the extractibility o f inhibitory substances

in cold and hot water in different plants.

Shivapuru and Gupta (2002) worked on evaluation of different plant extracts

against the leaf spot disease of mustard plant. Out of 15 plant extracts Azadirachata

indica, Datura alba, Vinca rosea, Oscimun sanctum were found most effective at 20

percent concentration for controlling o f leaf spot disease.

Vibha (2002) reported the effect o f leaf extracts o f Azadirachta indica,

Lantana camara, Pinus roxburghii and targetes erecta along with water soluble fraction

of mustard oil cake on germination, growth of mycelium and sporulation o f leaf spot

disease in guava plant. The result indicated that diluted neem and merigold extracts

may be used for control o f leaf spot disease o f guava plant. Gangwar et a l (2002)

studied the control measure o f powdery mildew disease o f mulberry plant by using

, different plants extracts. They found that out of 21 plant species considered, 10 were

highly effective for control of the disease in in-vitro and in-vivo.

Vidhyasagar and Rajasab (2003) studied on different concentrations of leaf

extracts of neem, and parthenium and bulb extract o f garlic to assess the eonidial

germination of powdery mildew disease in mulberry plants. All concentrations o f garlic

bulb extract and neem and parthenium were found inhibitory effect on eonidial

germination. However, garlic extract showed maximum effect in foliar disease control

followed by neem and parthenium.

Upadhya and Gupta (2003) reported the effect o f some medicinal plant

extracts on growth o f Curvularia lunata, which is the pathogen o f Setoria italica L Out

of five different plants, Alliunm sativum gave best inhibition o f C. lunata and followed

by Ocimun sanctum, Datura alba, Canabis sativa and Tagetes patula.

44
 Amadioha (2003) studied on alcohol and water extracts o f Piper nigrum,

Ocimum sanctum and C itrus lim on were effective against C olletotrichum

lindemuthianum in culture and in field experiments by checking the incidence and spread

of the disease. Extracts o f P nigrum were the best in reducing the growth of the pathogen

in culture and in checking the spread of the leaf spot disease o f cowpea in the field. This

was followed by O. sanctum whereas C. limon failed to check the spread o f the disease

in the field. R nigrum and O. sanctum could be to control this cowpea pathogen in the

field.

Antifungal activities of different plant extracts was studied by Shingha et

a l (2004) in in-vitro by considering Azadiracta indica, Datura stromonium, Cassia

tora, Parthenium histoporum and Ocimum sanctum against Colletotrichum capsid. All

the different plant extracts inhibited the radial growth and sporulation into some extent.

It was observed that radial growth of C. capsid was minimum in O.sanctum and it was

maximum in A. indica. On the other hand, sporulation was maximun in the extract of

C. tora and minimum in A. indica.

Salvaraj and Narayanaswamy (2004) reported that among the 19 plant

species tested, the extracts o f Tribulus terrestris, Catharanathus roses and ocimum

tenuiflorun reduced both brown spot and sheath rot diseases and 65 to 85 percent gained

after application. The extracts of Ipomoea cornea and Cascabela thevetia considerably

reduced the brown spot disease. However, the extracts o f Andeno calymma allicea and

Lawsonia inermis were highly effective against brown spot disease o f rice.

Antifungal activity of methanolic extracts o f Datura metel, Thespesia

populnea and Ficus hispida was tested against the growth o f Cercospora arachidicola,

causing early leaf spot disease o f ground nut. The result showed that gradual suppression

o f growth proportionate to the concentration o f the different extracts. The overall

performance o f all the plant extracts had more effective inhibition against the test

organism (Natarajan et al., 2005).

45
 Sheng et al. (2007) studied the affect o f different combinations o f

Cinnamomum cassia and Curcuna longa,thc medicinal plant extracts against the fungal

growth of Phyllosticta caricae. Due to combination o f Cinnamomum cassia and Curcuna

longa at a 15 and 25 % combination showed the higher inhibitory effect on growth of

Phyllosticta caricae. They reported that due to combination o f different plant extracts

showed the higher inhibitory effect towards the different pathogens and herbal extracts

may be used as natural antifungal agents.

Kagale et a/.(2007) reported that the leaf extracts o f Datura metel

significantly reduced the disease severity o f leaf spot o f rice caused by Rhizoctonia

solani. However, 20% Methanol extract exhibited the best control o f leaf spot disease

recording 60-71% which was more toxic than aqueous extracts. Further they reported

that instead o f controlling of leaf spot of rice disease this plant extracts effectively

control the bacterial blight disease of rice also.

46