Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
2
Plant Pathology Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
3
Weed Research Central Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
Abstract
Cumin plants infected with root rot and wilt diseases were collected from different locations of Behira, Ismailia and Minia governorates, Egypt. Many fungal species belonging to the genera Fusarium, Macrophomina, Rhizoctonia and Pythium were isolated from the infected plants. The results indicated that F. oxysporum recorded the highest frequency among the isolated fungi, followed by R. solani, F. solani, M. phaseolina and Pythium sp. The effect of various concentrations of marjoram and peppermint essential oils on the mycelial growth of the isolated fungi was tested in-vitro. Marjoram and peppermint oils completely inhibited the growth of F. oxysporum, F. solani, R. solani and Pythium sp. at the concentration 5ml/L. Field experiments were conducted at the Experi. Farm. of Agric. Res. Stat., Malawy, Minia Governorate, Egypt, during two successive seasons (2017/2018 and 2018/2019) to study the effect of different weed control treatments (hoeing, black polyethylene mulch, clover cover crop, unweeded control) on weed biomass. The results indicated that all weed control treatments significantly decreased the dry weight of grassy weeds, broad-leaved weeds and total weeds 70 days after sowing as compared to the unweeded control. Moreover, the effects of different weed control treatments and seed treatment with the biocides (Plant Guard and Rhizo-N) as well as the essential oils of peppermint and marjoram on the disease incidence, and some yield parameters of cumin plants were evaluated under field conditions. The results indicated that plastic mulch was the most effective in reducing wilt incidence as well as increasing cumin yield, while the unweeded plots had the highest disease incidence and the lowest yield. Furthermore, the application of the biocide Rhizo-N and marjoram essential oil seed dressing (5ml/L) reduced the incidence of wilt and significantly increased seed yield. Thus, it could be suggested any of the biocide Rhizo-N or marjoram essential oil can be formulated to be used for controlling cumin wilt under field conditions. Moreover, integration of these methods could provide an approach for the management of the disease in infested fields more effectively.
Keywords
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