Thifluzamide 24% SC: A Cost Effective Fungicide for Managing Sheath Blight of Rice

Sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani is a significant soil-borne disease of rice prevalent in all rice-growing regions of Telangana state, resulting in significant yield losses up to 50%. Owing to non-availability of resistance sources, fungicide application has become the predominant method for control of sheath blight in rice. Hitherto, strobilurins and triazole group of systemic fungicides were mostly widely preferred to manage the diseases in rice, apart from pathogen developing resistance due to their repeated use. Keeping this in view, studies were conducted with seven fungicides during kharif, 2021 and 2022 which revealed that, two foliar spraying of Thifluzamide 24% SC @ 375 ml/ha at initial appearance of sheath blight symptoms (maximum tillering stage) followed by another at 15-20 days interval resulted in highest reduction of sheath blight incidence (50.9%) followed by Difenconazole 25% EC @ 250 ml/ha (27.5%) and Tebuconazole 25.9% EC @ 750 ml/ha (19.7%), enhanced grain yield (21.9 to 36.5%) compared to untreated control. Further, this study also identified most effective fungicide i.e. Isoprothiolane 40% EC against neck blast of rice. In conclusion, Thifluzamide 20% SC is cost-effective and alternative fungicide, offering better protection against sheath blight with an ICBR of 1:3.6. Additionally, it is also demonstrated superior efficacy in managing sheath blight compared to the most commonly used fungicides, Tebuconazole and Difenconazole.