IMPACT OF PHYTOCHEMICAL AND SYNTHETIC FUNGICIDE TREATMENTS ON CERCOSPORA LEAF SPOT AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS OF SESAME

The field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of plant extracts and the synthetic fungicide (Benlate) on Cercospora leaf spot on sesame agronomic traits associated with yield at Ardokola and Gassol in 2011. The results of the field trials showed that the synthetic fungicide (Benlate) and all the plant extracts (Azadirachta indica, Jatropha curcas Linn., Alium sativum, Ocimum gratissimum(L.), Chromolaena odorata ) reduced the amount of disease by 7.1% to 8.64% compared to unsprayed control (with severity range of 55 to 58%). Similarly, plant extracts and benomyl gave 3.52 to 6.8% increase in plant height (compared to control of 136.94 to 149 70cm), 12.58 to 16.57 % more branches plant-1 (compared to control of 3.0 to 3.0), 32.10 to 36.82% more branches plant-1 (compared to control of 108.45 to 162.78) and 40.71 and 38.22% increase in yield over the unsprayed plots (548.66 and 551.04kg/ha) for Ardokola and Gassol respectively