Devastating Leaf Blight Of Wheat: The Integrated Management Approach

Given the threat posed by Wheat Leaf Blight, are you worried about the wellbeing of your priceless wheat crops? Remain calm! You should turn to this page as your go-to source for important knowledge and practical advice on how to deal with this fungus threat. 🌾🍂🛡️

The fungus plant pathogen Alternaria triticina is in charge of causing leaf blight in wheat plants. 🍂🍄 As the fungal infection is unable to affect immature wheat seedlings that are less than four weeks old, wheat plants become more susceptible to this illness as they get older. They often don't show any signs until the plants are about seven weeks old, but a severe infection can result in a yield loss of up to 80%. ☔🌡️ High relative humidity and temperatures between 20 and 25 °C are ideal for the development of this illness. 🌾🌦️

Type of infestation

Leaf blight of wheat has a complex disease cycle that involves primary and secondary infections. 

• Conidia carried by external and internal seed are the main means of transmission. 🌾🌱 
• Conidia carried by the wind are mostly responsible for the subsequent infection. 💨🍂

Scientific Name: Alternaria triticina 

Symptoms of Wheat Leaf Blight

The following points will help you to easily identify the symptoms caused by leaf blight of wheat.  

• The disease often makes its field debut when the wheat plants are 7 to 8 weeks old. 🌾🌱
• The virus always manifests itself initially on the lowest leaves before progressively moving up to the higher leaves. 🍃🍂
• On the immature seedlings, reddish-brown oval marks with a bright yellow edge appear. 🔴🟡 
• Multiple spots merge when the infection gets bad enough to cause leaf drying. 🍂🔍 
• Even from a distance, crops that have been heavily affected appear burnt. 🔥🌾
• If the infection occurs at or before the boot leaf stage, several types suffer a severe drop in grain yield of up to 90%. 🌾📉

Control Measures

It is frequently necessary to use an integrated pest management strategy that combines cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical techniques to effectively control wheat leaf blight. 🌾🔧🦠🌱

Cultural Measures

• Grow wheat types that are resistant, such as Co 25, Sonalika, Arnautka, E6160, and K7340. 🌾🌱
• Planting should only be done with clean, disease-free seeds. 🌱🌿
• You should wait at least two years before planting wheat in affected farms. ⏳🌾
• Early planting can help reduce exposure to wheat leaf rot during its peak season. 🌄🍂
• Wheat leaf blight can be less common with proper nutrition management, which includes balanced fertilization and watering. 🌾⚖️💧

Mechanical Measures

• Collect and burn the infected plants to reduce the spread the leaf blight disease. 

Biological Measures

• The Tricomax, Anshul Trichoderma viridae, a component of Bio fungicide, inhibits the growth of infections by churning out antibiotics. In a liter of water, 3 grams of the prescribed dosage should be used. 🌿🦠
• Milldown Bacillus subtilis, an organism that competes with disease-causing organisms and generates systemic acquired resistance to bacterial infections, is present in the biofungicide. 50 ml of water and 7.5 to 10 ml of mildown should be used to treat 1 kilogram of seed, and the seed should then be coated properly. The seeds should be shade dried for 20 to 30 minutes prior to sowing. 🌱💧
• Mr. Amruth Almonas Rhizobacteria and Pseudomonas fluorescence cells, which display antibiosis effects on disease-causing pathogens, are the main components of the biological fungicide known as Bio Fungicide. A dosage of 3-5 ml per liter of water is advised for treating seeds. 🌾🌱🔬

Chemical Measures

The management of wheat leaf blight disease involves the use of chemicals. The table below lists some of the commercial chemicals used for preventing leaf blight