The present investigation is focused on exploring the possibilities of identifying biomolecules from the fruiting body of the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum against the mango anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The fruiting body (cap and stipe portion) of G. lucidum extracted with ethyl acetate solvent at a maximum inhibitory concentration of 1 percent exhibited the maximum mycelial growth inhibition of C. gloeosporioides with 70.10 percent and 40.77 percent, respectively. Furthermore, subjecting the ethyl acetate extracts from the cap portion of G. lucidum through thin layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the presence of two bands with Rf values of 0.38 and 0.35. The compounds eluted from band 1 recorded with the maximum mycelial growth inhibition of C. gloeosporioides by 53.77 percent followed by band 2 (46.33 percent) using an agar well diffusion test. Similarly, the analysis of ethyl acetate extracts from the cap portion of G. lucidum through Gas Chromatography-Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) revealed the presence of the organoheterocyclic compound benzothiazole, as expressed in the highest peak area at 22.03 RT with the highest probability percentage (97%). Confirmation of the antifungal nature of benzothiazole was obtained by testing the standard sample of benzothiazole which showed a cent percent of inhibition on mycelial growth of C. gloeosporioides at 50 ppm minimum fungicidal concentration. Furthermore, benzothiazole caused abnormality in the mycelial structures, viz., distortion, shrinkage, clumping of mycelium, conidial malformation, and complete arrestment of conidial germination of C. gloeosporioides as observed through Scanning Electron Microscopy. The research on biomolecular extract of G. lucidum could be a novel and interesting concept for the possibility in suppression of plant pathogenic microbes in the natural field.

The study aimed to enhance the sweetness and fruit quality of winter-grown watermelon by evaluating the effects of distinct pruning methods on growth, yield and physiological and biochemical characteristics. The treatments were control, single stem pruning, double-stem pruning and fruit thinning, which were investigated during 2 consecutive winter seasons under pot and field conditions. Single stem pruning at 35 days after sowing showed the most pronounced improvement among all the tested treatments. This treatment strongly enhanced TSS (9.28 °Brix in pot-grown plants and 8.82 °Brix in field-grown plants) and increased reducing, non-reducing and total sugars compared with the other treatments. Sweetness enhancement is coupled with increased chlorophyll content, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities and higher accumulation of primary and secondary nutrients in the fruit pulp. Fruit thinning greatly improved external colour; however, single stem pruning was superior in enhancing the internal quality and overall marketability of the fruits. The results indicate that single stem pruning is an effective management practice for increasing sweetness, physiological performance and yield of winter-grown watermelon under off-season production conditions.