A New Blotch Disease (Curvularia pallescens Boedijn) of Gloriosa superba Linn

摘要

The tubers of Gloriosa superba Linn. (Family -Liliaceae, local name - Kalihari) are used as tonic, anti-periodic, anti-helmenthic and against snake-bite and scorpion sting. The drug is a gastro-intestinal irritant and may cause vomiting and purging. It is also considered useful in local application against parasitic skin diseases and as a cataplasm in urological pains. The medicinal properties of the drug are due to the presence of alkaloids chiefly colchicine and gloriosine (Singh and Panda 2005). During surveys on medicinal plants, a new leaf blotch disease of G. superba caused by Curvularia pallescens Boedijn was noticed in the agroforestry nursery at Jabalpur in Aug 2007. Earlier, Chakraborty et al (2006) had reported this pathogen on Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze as a cause of leaf blight. The fungus has not so far been reported on G. superba from India (Bilgrami et al 1979, 1981; Mukherji and Bhasin 1986; Jamaluddin et al 2004).