Mechanized Means of Sett Treatment: An Effective Way of Delivering Fungicides for the Management of Red Rot in Sugarcane

Abstract

Role of sett treatment for the management of primary source of red rot inoculum from setts and soil has been established earlier, but could not be recommended for large-scale application due to practical limitations. Hence, in the present investigation, a practically feasible mechanized means of sett treatment has been standardized and compared with conventional overnight soaking method. Both the methods of treatment were evaluated for selecting fungicidal dosage, duration of sett treatment, compatibility among the fungicides, their efficacy and phytotoxic effect on sugarcane growth. Results of tissue bioassay, green house and field experiments revealed that the efficacy of fungicides was found to be at par for both the methods of treatment. Among the fungicides tested, thiophanate methyl was found to be highly suitable under mechanized treatment, while azole fungicides were phytotoxic at elevated concentrations. However, combination of fungicides had added advantage than the individual use of fungicides. Besides, the mechanized treatment had certain advantages such as rapidity, economical as it requires less chemical, less cumbersome in handling material, capable of delivering more than one agrochemical and suitability for large-scale application under farmer’s field condition.