An Investigation on the Occurrence of Brinjal Wilt Caused by Sclerotium rolfsii in Northern Karnataka, India

Aims: The Sclerotium wilt of brinjal caused by S. rofsii is an important disease and occurs severely in the brinjal growing areas of northern Karnataka. To gain knowledge about the prevalence of sclerotium wilt of brinjal in different districts of northern Karnataka. And also to study the factors that contribute to the disease occurrence following research was conducted.

Study Design: Roving survey.

Place and Duration of Study: The laboratory studies were conducted in the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during rabi 2020-21.

Methodology: A roving survey was conducted in five northern Karnataka brinjal growing districts during rabi 2020-21, observing Sclerotium wilt incidence and calculating percentages. The survey collected data was used to reveal a correlation between disease incidence and soil type, irrigation type, mulch type, and crop stage.

Results: The survey conducted in five districts of northern Karnataka (Belagavi, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag) revealed that maximum disease incidence of 35.07 percent was recorded in Narendra village of Dharwad district followed by Nulageri village (17.71%) of Haveri district. No disease incidence was observed in Hanchinal village of Belagavi district and Pettur village of Bagalkot district. The average mean of district for Sclerotium wilt of brinjal was also recorded and results revealed that, Dharwad district showed maximum percent disease incidence (12.39%) followed by Haveri (9.03%), Gadag (7.93%) and the least percent disease incidence (6.89%) was recorded in Bagalkot district.

Conclusion: A study on brinjal sclerotium wilt found that edaphic factors and agronomic practices, such as flooded irrigation and lack of mulching, contribute to high disease incidence in all five districts. Flooding spreads inoculum, while mulching improves soil temperature and restricts sclerotial germination. The fruiting and flowering stages of crops are most susceptible to disease due to nutrient imbalance and S. rolfsii invasion, urging the need for integrated management strategies to reduce brinjal sclerotium wilt.