Pest And Diseases Of Bengal Gram

The crop is attacked by a number of diseases at different stages of growth and storage. Some of them are as under.
1. Wilt: This disease is caused by a fungus Fusarium orthocerus. It spreads more when temperature is high and soil moisture conditions are bad during flowering stage. Leaves dry up and turn yellow. Roots turn brown and decompose. To control the disease deep ploughing before sowing, sowing at proper atmospheric temperature i.e. 20 to 22°C and adopting mixed cropping are recommended.
2. Rust: The disease is caused by Uromyces ciceris arietini. The leaves are affected by the fungus and shows small, round to oval, light or dark-brown postules are found on the under surface of the leaves. The disease spreads to pods and twigs. It is more prominent in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. To control the disease, grow resistant varieties, adopt crop rotation practices and spray Dithane M -45 of 0.2% at the first symptom of the disease.
3. Grey mould: The disease is caused by Botrytis cinerea. Leaves, flowers, twigs and petioles get brown spots. The disease spreads in humid climate and resides in the soil. To control this dis- ease late sowing and spraying with Dithane M-45 0.3% or Captan 0.2% on the appearance of the disease is recommended.
4. Ascophyta blight: The disease is caused by Ascophyta rabi. Leaves and branches get yellowish, round spots and fall down. This disease appears when climate starts warming up, i.e. in February. To control the disease grow resistant variety, adopt seed treatment and crop-rotation practices.
5. Sclerotinia blight: The disease is caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiornm. Stem becomes yellow, brown and ultimately plant die. White cot- ton like growth of fungus appears on dead stems. This disease is serious in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. To control this, grow resistant variety, adopt crop rotation and mix 10 kg per of Captan with the top soil before sowing.