Effects of Sowing Date and Fungicide on Seedling Establishment of Pearl Millet Genotypes Infected with Downy Mildew Disease

Abstract

Downy mildew caused by Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.) Schroet is a major limiting factor to the production of pearl millet globally. Therefore, a field trial was carried out during the 2018 and 2019 rainy seasons at Bauchi and Maiduguri located in the Northern Guinea and Sudan Savannah of Nigeria, respectively. The aim was to evaluate the effects of different sowing dates and a fungicide on seedlings establishment of three pearl millet genotypes infected with downy mildew disease. Randomized Complete Block Design was used with a factorial arrangement of treatments, which comprised three pearl millet genotypes (Gero, Maiwa, Dauro), three sowing dates (late-June, mid-July and late-July) and metalaxyl fungicide (treated and untreated). Results for genotypes consistently showed that Maiwa performed better than Gero and Dauro. In terms of the sowing date, the performance of millet was better in the first sowing date (late-June), followed by the second date (mid-July) and then the third date (late-July). Mean values of the seedling establishment were significantly decreased with delay in sowing date. Results, in respect of the fungicide treatments, generally indicated a higher seedling stands in the treated (78.6 - 87.4%) than untreated seed (70.9 - 81.1%) across the locations. These findings revealed that treated seeds with metalaxyl fungicide and early sowing give better seedling establishment in pearl millet.