Efficacy of NSKE (Neem Seed Kernel Extract) on Asparagus racemosus Wild Poonam Sethi * Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Guru Nanak College (Autonomous), Chennai, India ABSTRACT Asparagus is famous for its culinary and medicinal uses. Although it is a native to the western European coasts, it has now been widely naturalized in India; Himachal Pradesh is the primary producer. Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure (Neem kernel). There are three plant diseases that affect the Asparagus plant which can be controlled by the spray of NSKE (Neem Seed Kernel Extract). Keywords: Asparagus; NSKE; Crown rot disease; Spray; Rust disease; White mold DESCRIPTION Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure (Neem kernel). It originated early in the 20th century in reaction to rapidly changing farming practices. The concepts of organic agriculture were developed in the early 1900s by Sir Albert Howard, F.H. King and Rudolf Steiner who believed that the use of animal manures (often made into compost), cover crops, crop rotation, and biologically based pest controls resulted in a better farming system. Howard, having worked in India as an agricultural researcher, gained much inspiration from the traditional and sustainable farming practices he encountered there and advocated for their adoption in the West [1]. Asparagus is famous for its culinary and medicinal uses. Although it is a native to the western European coasts, it has now been widely naturalized in India; Himachal Pradesh is the primary producer. As the vegetable not commonly available in the local markets, it remains in high demand [2]. There are three plant diseases that affect the Asparagus plant a) Crown and root rot of asparagus, caused by two species of Fusarium( Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. asparagi Fusarium proliferatum) (Figure 1). b) Asparagus rust, caused by Puccinia asparagi, is an extremely complex fungal disease that threatens crops throughout the world (Figure 2). c) White mold infests Asparagus infected by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Figure 3). The control measures involve treatment of the seeds with hot water or disinfectants to produce disease-free seedlings. The plant vigor is maintained by proper fertilization and proper weeding. Management of Fusarium crown and root rot is difficult as the plant propagates from both seeds and crowns. But to grow from crowns would take around three years, and to grow the plants from roots, it takes two years only. Usage of fungicide is of little value as it is less effective. V i r o l o g y & M y c o l o g y ISSN: 2161-0517 Virology & Mycology: Open Access Short Communication Correspondence to: Poonam Sethi, Department of Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, Guru Nanak College (Autonomous), Chennai, India, E- mail: poonam123.73@rediffmail.com, poonam.sethi@gurunanakcollege.edu.in Received: September 30, 2021; Accepted: October 14, 2021; Published: October 21, 2021 Citation: Copyright: © 2021 Sethi P. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Virol Mycol, Vol.10 Iss.5 No:1000220 1 Sethi P (2021) Efficacy of NSKE (Neem Seed Kernel Extract) on Asparagus racemosus Wild. Virol Myco.10:220. and