PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe polygoni DC. affects mung bean and may reduce seed yield. The present study was conducted during the Kharif season of 2025–26 to evaluate selected fungicides against powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe polygoni DC. The investigation was carried out in the Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural Research Station, Badnapur. The results revealed that all the fungicidal treatments significantly reduced powdery mildew disease intensity compared with the untreated control. The mean per cent disease intensity (PDI) among the fungicidal treatments ranged from 18.96 to 43.22 per cent, whereas the untreated control recorded the highest disease intensity of 54.45 per cent. Among the fungicides, Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 1 ml/l (T5) was found to be the most effective treatment, recording the lowest PDI of 18.96 per cent, followed by Azoxystrobin 11% + Tebuconazole 18.30% SC @ 2.5 ml/l (T1) with a PDI of 22.28 per cent and Azoxystrobin 23% SC @ 1 ml/l (T7) with a PDI of 25.09 per cent. Myclobutanil 10% WP @ 0.5 g/l (T6), Captan 70% + Hexaconazole 5% WP @ 1.5 g/l (T2), Carbendazim 12% + Mancozeb 60% WP @ 3 g/l (T3), Propiconazole 25% EC @ 1 ml/l (T4) and Wettable Sulphur 80% WP @ 0.5 g/l (T8) recorded PDIs of 28.43, 32.57, 35.56, 39.36 and 43.22 per cent, respectively. The untreated control recorded the maximum PDI of 54.45 per cent. The application of fungicides also significantly increased the seed yield of mung bean over the untreated control. The grain yield ranged from 0.211 to 0.297 kg/plot among the fungicidal treatments, compared with 0.186 kg/plot in the untreated control. The maximum grain yield of 0.297 kg/plot was recorded in Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 1 ml/l, followed by Azoxystrobin 11% + Tebuconazole 18.30% SC @ 2.5 ml/l (0.256 kg/plot) and Azoxystrobin 23% SC @ 1 ml/l (0.248 kg/plot). Similarly, the seed yield on a per-hectare basis ranged from 616 to 869 kg/ha among the fungicidal treatments, while the untreated control recorded 543 kg/ha. The highest seed yield of 869 kg/ha was obtained with Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 1 ml/l, followed by Azoxystrobin 11% + Tebuconazole 18.30% SC @ 2.5 ml/l (748 kg/ha) and Azoxystrobin 23% SC @ 1 ml/l (725 kg/ha).  Thus, Tebuconazole 50% + Trifloxystrobin 25% WG @ 1 ml/l was the most economically beneficial treatment for managing powdery mildew of mung bean.