A Study on Efficacy of Trichoderma spp. against Fusarial Wilts of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of Trichoderma spp. against fusarial wilts of chickpea
(Cicer arietinum L.). Agriculture is the largest private enterprise in India, it has been and will continue
to be the lifeline of the Indian economy. Like other crops, chickpea is also attacked by various
diseases and insect-pests, out of which fusarial wilt and pod borer of chickpea are most severe; there
are many methods such as breeding and cultivation of resistant varieties, use of chemical fungicides
and insecticides for management of fusarial wilt of chickpea. However, increasing use of chemical
fungicides and insecticides in plant protection results in several serious hazardous problems.
Continuous uses of these chemical substances disturb our ecological equilibrium, result in increase of
human diseases, problems of resistance in pests, pathogens and weed population. This problem can
be minimized by using biological control agents under an integrated pest/ disease management
programme. Therefore, in the present investigation, it was observed that application of bio-pesticide
formulations in the laboratory, as well as in the field conditions showed significant performance in
controlling wilt diseases.