Abstract
<p> Investigations were made to study the effects of three nemato-pathogenic fungi<em> viz.</em> <em>Purpureocillium lilacinum</em>, <em>P. lilacinum</em> + neem cake, <em>Pochonia chlamydosporia</em> and<em> Trichoderma</em> sp. as well as two synthetic insecticides (cartap hydrochloride and carbosulfan) against the Root-knot Nematodes (RKN) of cardamom at the farmers’ fields in three locations of Idukki district, Kerala, India during 2016- 2019. Results revealed that the combined application of <em>P. lilacinum</em> with neem cake gave maximum reduction of typical symptoms of infestation like the leaf narrowing (6.42%) and root knot formation (1.32 nos.) followed by <em>P. chlamydosporia</em> with 8.04% narrowed leaves and 1.83 root knots. The application of <em>P. lilacinum</em> and neem cake in combination (0.82 kg/plant and 2.99) followed by<em> P. chlamydosporia</em> (0.71 kg/plant and 2.71 recorded highest yield and Benefit Cost Ratio, respectively). Bio-control agents are therefore efficient and environmentally safer for managing the RKN in cardamom. Future studies can be directed to focus on the compatibility and efficiency enhancement of these bio-agents with organic amendments.</p>
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