Abstract

Ginger is cultivated on a large scale in Malabar and Godavari districts, the area under this crop being over 12,250 acres. In recent years the price of ginger has risen to such a degree that this crop has assumed great importance. Several diseases affect this crop but the most serious one is the wilt and the rhizome rot caused by more than one species of Pythium and Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. The disease affects the harvested rhizomes stored for seed purposes as well as plants in the field. A storage rot occurs in the former and the wilting of the shoots followed by rotting of connected rhizomes is prevalent under field conditions. This disease has been under study by various investigators in many countries (Parham 1935, McRae 1911, Sen 1930, Uppal 1940). Four species of Pythium viz. P. aphanidermatum, P. myriotylum, P. vexans and P. gramini- colum have been found to be capable of causing infection.

Keywords: