Epidemiological trends of Fusarium wilt in chickpea and its management through ICT-enabled surveillance in Maharashtra

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, is one of the most devastating soil borne disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), significantly affecting yield in India. The present study explores wilt incidence across major chickpea growing districts of Maharashtra from 2018 to 2025 using ICT-based pest surveillance systems. Disease incidence data were collected from 305 talukas across 28 districts and analyzed using Kruskal- Wallis test in R studio and a cluster heatmap was also generated to identify the peak wilt incidence. This study highlights the timely suggestion of Disease Management (IDM) practices including the use of wilt-resistant varieties and soil drenching with Trichoderma viride 1.15 WP cfu (1 × 108) @ 5 g/L. water as well as soil application by mixing 5 kg of Trichoderma viride / ha with farmyard manure resulting to a significant decline of wilt incidence even during exacerbated temperature ranges that were conducive to pathogen development during the years 2018-19 to 2020-21. These findings emphasize the necessity of district specific IDM strategies and the integration of ICT based real time disease surveillance to support early detection and timely advisory dissemination to farmers for sustainable chickpea production.