Development of native microbial consortia is crucial for the sustainable management of plant diseases in modern agriculture. This study aimed to evaluate the antagonistic potential of various microbial isolates against Rhizoctonia bataticola, a significant soil-borne pathogen. A total of 480 bacteria, 283 fungi, and 150 actinomycetes were isolated and screened using in vitro dual plate assays. Among these, isolates 5F, 131B, 223B, and 236B demonstrated the highest antagonistic activity, with inhibition rates of 88.24%, 87.5%, 81.25%, and 81.25%, respectively. The selected isolates were further assessed for abiotic stress tolerance, revealing their ability to thrive under extreme conditions. Characterization of biocontrol and plant growth-promoting activities revealed the production of siderophores, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, chitinase, and indole-3-acetic acid, along with the solubilization of zinc and phosphorus. Compatibility tests confirmed the potential of forming effective microbial consortia, which significantly reduced the percent disease index in cluster bean. The most effective consortium, comprising Trichoderma afroharzianum 5F, Pseudomonas fluorescens 131B, Bacillus licheniformis 223B, and Bacillus subtilis 236B, achieved a 76.5% disease control. Additionally, this consortium enhanced total phenol (92.1%), flavonoids (141.6%), and antioxidant defense enzyme activities including POX (188.5%), PPOX (116.3%), PAL (71.2%), and TAL (129.9%) in cluster bean plants over the infected control, leading to substantial improvements in systemic resistance of plants. This consortium also significantly enhanced plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, number of pods per plant, and seed yield over the infected control as well as mock control. This study underscores the potential of these robust microbial consortia as a sustainable and effective strategy for managing R. bataticola and enhancing crop productivity under extreme environmental conditions.

Sweet or bell pepper is a member of the Solanaceae family and is regarded as one of the most popular and nutritious vegetable. Blight, in the form of leaf and fruit blight, has been observed to infect bell pepper crops cultivated at the horticulture farm in Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur, India. Based on disease severity, we attempted to curb this newly emerged problem using different fungicides, plant extracts, bio-control agents, and commercial botanicals against the fungus in laboratory and pot experiments. Bio-control agent Trichoderma viride and plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) isolate Neist-2 were found to be quite effective against bell pepper blight. All evaluated fungicides, botanicals, commercial botanicals, and bio-control agents in vitro were further studied as seed dressers and two foliar sprays at ten days interval in pot experiments. The combinations of Vitavax, PGPR isolate Neist-2, and Mehandi extract were found to be very effective against bell pepper blight followed by Vitavax, T. viride, and Mehandi extract used individually. All treatments in the pot experiments were found to significantly reduce seedling mortality and enhance plant biomass of bell pepper. Thus, these experimental findings suggest that a better integrated management of bell pepper blight could be achieved by conducting field trials in major bell pepper- and chilli-cultivated areas of the state. Besides fungicides, different botanicals and commercial botanicals also seem to be promising treatment options. Therefore, the outcome of the present study provides an alternate option of fungicide use in minimizing loss caused by Drechslera bicolor.

Soil-borne diseases, including charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) and collar rot (Sclerotium rolfsii), threaten global soybean production. Four fungicide combinations were tested as seed treatments at three concentrations (1, 1.5, and 2 g or ml per kg of seed) under controlled conditions to address the challenges posed by these diseases. Under controlled conditions, the combination of thiophanate methyl + pyraclostrobin at a rate of 2 mL/kg of seed significantly alleviated disease symptoms caused by both pathogens. Additionally, it enhanced shoot and root weights by over 50% in plants affected by S. rolfsii. Field trials were conducted for two years at two distinct locations to assess the efficacy of three selected combination seed treatment fungicides against M. phaseolina and S. rolfsii. Both inoculated and uninoculated controls were included for the comparison. Among the fungicides, thiophanate-methyl + pyraclostrobin and trifloxystrobin + penflufen proved the most effective for suppressing both diseases under epiphytotic field conditions across the years and locations. This study also highlighted the benefits of these chemical combinations in enhancing agronomic traits, maintaining yield, and ensuring the economic viability of soybeans.

Background: Moth bean is a very nutritive and hardy crop, especially for resource poor-arid agriculture. The limited use of cultivars in moth bean breeding resulted into narrow genetic base. This study aimed to diversify the conical genetic base and developimproved cultivars, through molecular (RAPD) and morpho-agronomic characterization of commercially elite moth bean cultivars. Methods: Elite moth bean cultivars (15) were evaluated for 11 morpho-agronomic traits. Eleven RAPD markers were used to amplify genomic DNA and perform molecular characterization.Clustering approach was used for grouping of the cultivars. Result: RAPD markers revealed high polymorphism in 15 elite moth bean cultivars. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values varied within the range of 0.45 to 0.88, with an average of 0.77. The number of alleles at different loci ranged from 4 to 16, with an average of 10 alleles per locus. When employing UPGMA-based cluster analysis, utilizing 11 morpho-agronomic traits, the cultivars were grouped into four clusters. However, when RAPD markers were used, the cultivars were grouped into five clusters. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and Manhattan dissimilarity coefficient fell within the ranges of 0.18 to 0.70 and 0.02 to 0.42, respectively. These values signify the degree of genetic variability within the cultivars. Furthermore, a Mantel test was conducted to examine the correlation between agronomic traits and the RAPD-based matrix. The results showed a negative correlation, but it was not statistically significant.The high PIC values and the successful amplification of multiple loci demonstrate the efficacy of RAPD markers in assessing genetic diversity in moth beans. The study revealed enormous genetic variation among cultivars and crosses can be attempted between cultivars of different groups to create better recombinants in moth bean breeding programmes.