Major diseases of medicinal and aromatic plants recorded in Himachal Pradesh-India
2014
Chandel, Sunita | Dubey, K. | Kaushal, Parvinder
Himachal Pradesh is a hilly state with altitude ranging from 350 m to 7000 m above sea level. Because of varied altitudinal gradients and climatic conditions state harbors rich plant diversity. Like other plants, medicinal plants are also attacked by fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes and some are notably notorious and lead to epidemics under favorable environmental conditions. In Himachal Pradesh, the work on identification of diseases is lacking although the state is rich in medicinal flora and the commercialization of native exotic species is under progress. Diseases occurring on medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himachal Pradesh have been investigated. In total, 54 different species of medicinal and aromatic plants were analyzed from different locations of Himachal Pradesh. Disease status revealed that in district Solan, 31 medicinal plants were assessed out of which leaf spot was observed in 17 and leaf blight in 9. While symptoms of leaf blight, wilt, anthracnose, inflorescence blight, root rot, mosaic etc. were noticed in rest of the plant species. However in district Sirmour, 15 plants species were enumerated and leaf spot again occupied major proportion. Symptoms of twig blight/top rot/die, back, wilt, bacterial soft rot, seedling blight were reported in some plant species. In district Mandi, 4 and Kinnaur, 5 plant species were analyzed. Leaf spot, leaf blight and wilt were the diseases recorded in the two districts. Most prevalent causal agent of leaf spot and blight was Alternaria spp. followed by Phyllosticta spp. and Colletotrichum spp. Besides these foliar pathogens Septoria, Cercospora, Curvularia, Stagonospora were frequent in occurrence. Medicinal plant species of Swertia chirayita, Rauvolfia serpentina, Lavandula angustifolia and Aloe barbadensis were most severely infected with wilt. Mosaic was observed in Rauvolfia serpentina. Bacteria were reported on Withania somnifera and Aloe barbadensis. While, twig blight was observed in Terminalia arjunae, Emblica officinalis and Cassia fistula.
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