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Charcoal rot of mungbean caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is a destructive disease of mungbean. Nowadays, scientists are in search of alternative environmental friendly disease management strategies to reduce the negative effects of synthetic agrochemicals on environment. The present study was designed to control the pathogen and the disease by using different species of a biological control agent Trichoderma, and extracts and dry biomass of Sisymbrium irio, a weed of family Brassicaceae. Root and leaf extracts of the weed showed the best inhibitory effect on growth of M. phaseolina in laboratory bioassays. among the seven species of Trichoderma, T. harzianum showed the best antagonistic activity against the pathogen. In pot trials, T. harzianum in combination with 1% dry leaf biomass of S. irio as soil amendment enhanced plant resistance against the fungal pathogen and significantly increased grain yield of mungbean by 62% and 805% over negative and positive control treatments, respectively. This book is highly useful for those who are interested in organic farming.
About the author
Laiba Afzal completed her M.Sc.(Hins.) Agriculture from Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab Lahore, Pakistan. Arshad Javaid (PhD) and Amna Shoaib (PhD) are working as Assistant Professors in the same Institute, and are authors of 262 and 66 research publications, respectively, published in well reputed journals.
