The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has developed biocontrol agent Trichoderma asperellum (2% WP), and registered it with the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC).
The biocontrol agent will help Punjab farmers manage the deadly ‘foot rot’ or ‘bakanae’ disease that plagues the crops of Basmati rice, varieties of fragrant rice that are popular world over.
This biocontrol agent offers a non-chemical alternative to traditional pesticides, aiding in disease management while minimising environmental harm.
Foot rot or Bakanae
Foot rot or Bakanae is primarily a seed borne disease. The fungus can overwinter as spores on the surface of rice seeds.
It is caused by the fungus Fusarium verticillioides, a soil-seed borne pathogen which spreads the infection through the root of the plant, and eventually leads to the colonisation of the stem base.
