Use of organic amendments for sustainable management of root rot disease of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) caused by Sclerotium rolfsii

The utilization of organic amendments has been considered as the best nonchemical management strategy for controlling the soil borne pathogens and hence can act as a potential tool to manage different soil borne diseases of tomato. Keeping this in view, several organic amendments were used against sclerotium root rot disease of tomato which is soil borne in nature. Effects of these amendments on the plant growth parameters as well as on the soil mycoflora were also studied. The experimental result revealed that among different organic amendments the maximum plant height and leaf number/plant were observed in neem cake treated plot representing the values 54.61 cm and 122.08 per plant respectively at 50 days after transplanting, against 40.86 cm and 71.03 per plant in case of control plots. The least sclerotium root rot disease incidence (14.75%) and maximum fruit yield (266.33q ha^-1) were also observed in neem cake treated plot (T₁). Quantitative changes in the rhizosphere fungal population were also noticed due to the application of organic amendments in soil. It was observed that the fungal population peaked at 60 DAT and declined thereafter irrespective of the treatment. Minimum population was recorded in neem cake treated plot (T₁) and maximum population was recorded in farmyard manure treated plot (T₅) at all stages of plant growth except initial population (before transplanting). Soil beneficial fungi like Penicillium chrysogenum, Trichoderma asperellum were also observed in neem cake treated plot (T₁) which can play an important role in sustainable management of the disease.