Disease - Rust
Causal organism - Uromyces ciceris arietini
Symptoms - Initial symptoms of chickpea rust disease as small round or oval, light brown to dark brown pustules on both surface of foliage.
These pustules usually formed on the lower surface of the leaf. Later, the pustules merges & cover larger area of the leaf. This disease occurs at the end of February.
Earlier, it was considered as a minor disease because it appear late in the season when the crop is maturing but in the recent past it is becoming major threat to chickpea cultivation.
Damage - The infected leaves dry up and fall down. In severe infection, there is 80 to 90 percent yield loss.
However this disease was observed in those areas where late showing should be done.
Control - If symptoms are observed Spraying should be done with mencozeb 75 WP @ 2 g/l of water. Take two more spray at the interval of 10 days.
Spray 2-4 kg of Sulphur @ per hectare.
Integrated Disease Management - Use certified pathogen-free seeds. Use tolerant or resistant varieties. Ensure crop rotation. Deep ploughing should be done & remove plant debris by burning or plowing it.
