Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2020) 9(2): 2720-2725 2720 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2020.902.309 Eco-friendly Management of Anthracnose Disease of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) Sacc. & Magn Maria Modi* and Shashi Tiwari Department of Plant Pathology, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad- 211007 (U.P.), India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction The first written reference of the word 'cowpea' appeared in 1798 in the United States (Small, Ernest 2009). The name was most likely acquired due to their use as a fodder crop for cows (Timko et al., 2007). The cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Cultivated cowpeas are known by the common names black-eyed pea, southern pea, yardlong bean, catjang, and crowder pea. It belongs to the family Fabaceae and probably a native of Central Africa. Cowpea is also a kharif legume crop and is grown across India for seeds, green pods, animal fodder, and organic green manure. It is called as vegetable meat due to high nutritious constitutions with high protein 23-24%, carbohydrate 60.3%, minerals and vitamins and also rich source of iron and calcium. The size and shape of the leaves varies greatly, making this an important feature for International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 2 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com An experiment was conducted at experimental field of Plant Pathology, Sam Higginbottom University of Agricultural, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad, during the kharif season 2017 to evaluate the effect of botanicals and bio-agents against Anthracnose of Cowpea caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. Eight treatments including control replicated thrice in Randomized block design. In field experiments, the highest reduction of disease intensity was achieved by Trichoderma viride (23.703) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (25.550) @ 2% at 30, 60, 90 DAS. Under invitro condition Eucalyptus oil @ 5% was found most effective inhibiting mycelial growth (100%) followed by Trichoderma viride (68.82%). All the treatments significantly reduced the Anthracnose disease under field conditions. Keywords Anthracnose, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, bio-agents, botanicals. Accepted: 20 January 2020 Available Online: 10 February 2020 Article Info