Abstract

Chilli powdery mildew incited by Leveillula taurica is one of the most serious diseases in Tamil Nadu. Among the antagonistic microflora, maximum reduction in conidial germination was recorded by the culture filtrates of Trichoderma viride, T.harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens under in vitro condition. These antagonistic microflora were highly effective in reducing disease severity in the greenhouse and field. In greenhouse, T.harzianum recorded maximum disease reduction of 66.0 per cent, followed by T.viride (48.9 per cent) and P.fluorescens (39.9 per cent). Same trend was observed in field also, where 54.9, 47.8 and 36.1 per cent disease reduction were recorded respectively

Keywords: Chilli, powdery mildew, Leveillula taurica, antagonistic microflora, biocontrol, management