Damping off and fruit rot caused by Colletotrichum capsici are the major constraints in production and marketability of chilli. Systemic fungicides are commonly used to control this disease. However, continuous use of chemical fungicides leads to negative impact on environment, soil and human health. Therefore, present studies (blotter and pot experiment) were conducted to explore the bio-fungicides (as an alternative to chemical fungicide) in comparison with carbendazim using chilli seeds infected with Colletotrichum capsici. Experiments were conducted at the CCSHAU, Hisar, India during 2016 in completely randomized design with nine treatments replicated three times. Six months old seeds having germination above the Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standard, were infected with Colletotrichum capsici and such infected seeds were treated with Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma viridae, Pseudomonas fluorescens individually and their combinations to control the disease incidence. The infected, un-infected and seed treatment with carbendazim served as controls. Results revealed that the seed germination was significantly higher (94.7%) with Trichoderma viride treatment compared to all other treatments including controls in blotter method. However, the seedling emergence in pot culture was significantly superior with Carbendazim treatment, the seed treatment with Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma viridae was on par to that of Carbendazim treatment. The seedling length was significantly superior with Trichoderma viride compared to the carbendazim and other controls both in blotter and pot culture. The seedling dry weight and seedling vigour were significantly higher with carbendazim as compared to the Trichoderma viride treatment or other treatments in both blotter and pot culture. However, the overall seedling vigour obtained with Trichoderma viride was similar to that of carbendazim treatment. The disease incidence was significantly lower with Pseudomonas fluorescens as compared to the Trichoderma viride and carbendazim in blotter method and; T. viride + P. fluorescens treatment was on par to that of carbendazim treatment in pot culture. Therefore, use of Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas fluorescens individually or in combination are suggested as an alternative to carbendazim to control the Colletotrichum capsici.

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to distinguish twenty Indian mustard varieties/genotypes based on chemical tests (phenol, modified phenol, KOH, NaOH, Peroxidase and 2, 4-D Auxin). Phenol test grouped variety into three distinct groups viz., dark reddish brown (12 varieties), dark grey (6 varieties) and Dark red (2 varieties). With the help of modified phenol test these varieties were further sub grouped. KOH test grouped varieties into three distinct groups i.e., dark brown (6 varieties), brown (5 varieties) and light brown (9 varieties). These tests clearly differentiated the varieties of one group to that of another groups on the basis of seed coat colour. NaOH test was not reliable for the differentiation of these varieties because all these varieties showed dark brown colour after treating with NaOH solution. Peroxidase test categorized varieties into three groups viz., high (9 varieties), medium (8 varieties), and (3 varieties) while 2, 4-D Auxin test grouped the varieties into three categories viz., tolerant (4 varieties), susceptible (8 varieties) and highly susceptible (8 varieties).

An experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of fungicides and packaging materials on longevity of chilli seed (variety: RCH-1). The seeds were treated with 15 fungicides and were kept in three containers viz. Metal box, Cloth bag and Plastic zipling bag up to 12 months under ambient conditions in seed pathology laboratory of Department of Seed Science & Technology, CCSHAU, Hisar, India. The samples were drawn at quaterly intervals for ascertaining the seed quality parameters. The seeds treated with flusilazole (2 g kg-1 seed) and stored in metal-box were found better for maintenance of higher seed quality parameters [germination, root length, shoot length, mean seedling dry weight, vigour indices] during the study period. The study suggested that use of appropriate packaging material and seed treatment could be useful to prolong the storage life of chilli seeds.

Karnal bunt is a major problem in reducing the quality of wheat seed during seed production programmes in Haryana. A survey was conducted to access the status of Karnal bunt in major wheat growing regions of Haryana during Rabi season of 2018-19. During the survey 11 districts of northern Haryana viz., Hisar, Yamunanagar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Ambala, Jind, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat were covered. Under the survey a total of 785 samples of wheat grains were collected from 34 grain markets. Samples revealed the range of Karnal bunt was between 0.05 -4.70 per cent in these districts which was exceeding the permissible limit of Indian Minimum Seed Certification Standards (0.25%) for quality wheat seed production. The infected samples were 395 (50.31%) and rejected samples were 155 (19.74%) having infection more than 0.25 per cent. Maximum average infection was found in Karnal district (0.413%), Hisar (0.278%) and Kurukshetra (0.273%) and the minimum was recorded in Sirsa (0.012%), Ambala (0.077%) CJAST, 38(2): 1-7, 2019; Article no.CJAST.52088 2 and Fatehabad (0.104%). The range of infection was highest in Karnal (0.05 -4.70%), then Hisar (0.05 -4.50%) followed by Kurukshetra (0.05 -3.40%) and lowest was observed in Sirsa (0.05 -0.10). Original Research Article