Management of Fusarium Wilt of Chickpea Using Integrated Approaches Leading Induced Systemic Resistance

Abstract

The objective of the research was to investigate the impact of Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Rhizobium, separately and together, on inducing systemic resistance in chickpea plants when exposed to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp ciceris. Various parameters such as wilt incidence, plant growth promotion, yield, peroxidase activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, and total phenol content were assessed after treating chickpea seeds (GNG-469) with these bioagents. The findings from in vitro experiments indicated that the treatment T14, which involved the combination of 1% T. harzianum, 2% P. fluorescens, and 2% Biochar, was the most potent combination of bioagents. Compared to the untreated control, this treatment considerably reduced wilt incidence and enhanced root length, shoot length, and overall yield. Furthermore, treatment T14 increased peroxidase activity by 1.4%, polyphenol oxidase activity by 1.6%, and total phenol content by 2.3% in chickpea plants during Fusarium wilt disease. These findings have crucial implications for creating innovative formulations utilizing fungal and bacterial bioagents to effectively control wilt disease in chickpea plants. Rhizobium exhibited the lowest growth inhibition (23.13%), and T. harzianum showed the highest growth inhibition (66.38%) in vitro compared to control. New generation fungicide such as Amistar top T5 (18%), the positive control, was highly effective against this soil-borne pathogen; however, chemical pesticides with hazardous implications must be replaced by ecofriendly biocontrol agents.. KEYWORDS :Systemic resistance, Chickpea wilt, Fusarium oxysporum ciceris, Biochar, Fungicides, Bioagents