Evaluation of different fungicides for effective managemen of Blumeriella leaf spot of cherry in Kashmir valley

摘要

Cherries are among important temperate fruits all over the world and are season's first tree fruit to reach the market, maturing within 60-70 days after full bloom and therefore, fetches premium price. In India, cherry is mainly grown in the state ofJammu and Kashmir (J&K) and to some extent in the North-Western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand hills. Exports of cherry from Jammu and Kashmir state earns substantial foreign exchange up to 150 crore (1). Cherry productivity per unit area is low owing to many biotic and abiotic factors in Kashmir valley. Among the diseases, Blumeriella leaf spot (BLS) has assumed an alarming proportion in the major cherry growing countries of the world and causes huge economic losses through midsummer pre-mature defoliation to the extent of 80-90%, which ultimately results in reduced fruit bud survival and fruit set in the following year (3,5). Blumeriella leaf spot disease has been managed by logically integrating various management strategies. Gruber et al. (4) managed the disease through the application of Copper-based fungicides. Recently, Proffer et al. (6) observed that applications of Dodine and Fluopyram were most effective in controlling the disease. In India no attempt has been made tomanage BLS disease, so an attempt was made to evaluate the efficacy of different fungicides for effective management of the disease.