Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Indian Phytopathology (2018) 71:549–554 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-018-0080-5 RESEARCH ARTICLE Efcacy of bio agents and fungicides against collar rot and early leaf spot of groundnut Data Ram Kumhar 1  · Ashok Kumar Meena 1  · Prabhu Narayan Meena 1,2 Received: 29 May 2018 / Revised: 16 October 2018 / Accepted: 29 October 2018 / Published online: 8 November 2018 © Indian Phytopathological Society 2018 Abstract Collar rot caused by (Aspergillus niger Van Teighem) and early leaf spot caused by (Cercospora arachidicola Hori) are the two major diseases, afecting the groundnut cultivation across the India and worldwide. The main aim of this study was to fnd out the efective management module to control the collar rot and early leaf spot diseases of groundnut. Efcacy of bio agents and fungicides either alone or with combination were assessed under feld conditions. The treatment module consisting of seed treatment with Tebuconazole 2 DS @ 1.5 g kg −1 + furrow application of T. viride @ 4.0 kg enriched with 50 kg FYM ha −1 + broadcasting of T. viride @ 4.0 kg enriched with 50 kg FYM ha −1 at 40 DAS + two foliar sprays of Tebuconazole 25.9% EC @ 1.0 ml l −1 starting from initiation of diseases and second spray at 15 days intervals was found most efective and economically benefcial treatment module in controlling of collar rot and early leaf spot diseases of groundnut. Keywords Aspergillus niger · Cercospora arachidicola · Bioagents · Fungicides · Disease management · Yield · Groundnut Introduction Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) is commonly called peanut, goober pea, pindad jack nut, manila nut, pygmy nut, pignut and monkey nut (Rathnakumar et al. 2013). It is known as ‘king of oil seeds (Aycock 1966). It belongs to the family of leguminaceae and originated from South America. It was cultivated as early as 1000 B. C. (Wiess 2000). It has wide range of cultivation in tropical and subtropical countries in the world. Groundnut is an important oilseed crop of India, grown extensively in various parts of the country in both Kharif and Rabi seasons. India occupies the frst position, both with regard to area and production of groundnut in the world. Oilseed crops have a specifc place in Indian agri- culture because edible oil is the next to food grain in Indian diet. Groundnut is one of the important oil seed crops of the world and major source of edible oil. The kernel con- tains 40–50% oil and 25–30% protein. It also contains 18% carbohydrates and minerals like Ca, Mg and Fe in higher levels in an available form, vitamins B 1 , B 2 and niacin are present in a considerable level. It is used in hydrogenation and soap industries. After extraction of the residual oil, the cake contains 7–8% nitrogen, which is used both in fertilizer and cattle feed. The groundnut haulms provide nutritive fod- der during summer season in dry farming area. It helps in improving soil fertility. Groundnut is grown on 23.25 million hectares worldwide with a total production of 40.08 million metric tonne and productivity of 1676 kg ha −1 (Anonymous 2015a). Developing countries constitute 97% of the global area and 94% of the global production of this crop. The country major groundnut producing state has brought India’s estimated kharif groundnut output down 24% (Anonymous 2015b). In Rajasthan, it is an important oilseed crop of the semi-arid tropics, cultivated in about 5.16 lakh hectares with an annual production of 10.48 lakh tones and productivity of 2029 kg ha −1 (Anonymous 2015c). More than 70 diseases due to fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes etc. have been reported and estimated yield loss to be up to 70% (McDonald et al. 1985; Lukose et al. 2008). One of the most important factors contributing to the low yield is the diseases afecting the crop. The yield is declin- ing due to several factors such as disease incidence, uncer- tain environmental conditions, low input applications and unavailability of high yielding as well as disease resistant * Data Ram Kumhar dataramkumhar@gmail.com 1 Present Address: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan 334 006, India 2 ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, Kolkata 700 120, West Bengal, India