Survey for the severity of early blight of tomato in central dry and southern transition zones of Karnataka

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belongs to the family Solanaceae and is commonly called “Poor man’s apple” because of its nutritional value and consumer affordable price. It is a rich source of vitamin viz., A, C, riboflavin and thiamine, along with essential minerals such as potassium (K), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). However, tomato cultivation is significantly hindered as the crop suffers from various biotic and abiotic stresses. Among them, early blight caused by the fungus Alternaria solani is considered to be one of the most serious and destructive disease reducing tomato production across the world. Considering the importance of crop and the losses caused by the pathogen, this study had been conducted to check the disease severity in different parts of central dry and southern transition zones of Karnataka. During the survey in central dry and southern transition zones of Karnataka in 2024 revealed that crop cultivation in parts of southern transition zone consisting of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts had showed highest per cent disease severity of 34.62 per cent, whereas, parts of central dry zone consisting of Davanagere and Chitradurga districts had showed 34.14 per cent. Among 23 tomato fields evaluated, 12 fields contained red soil showed highest mean per cent disease severity of 36.49 per cent, 7 fields contain black soil showed mean PDI of 31.98 per cent and 4 fields contain sandy loam soil showed mean PDI of 29.22 per cent. While studying the influence of growth stage of the crop on disease severity of early blight of tomato, highest mean per cent disease severity of 35.91 per cent was recorded in harvesting stage followed by fruiting stage (34.65%) and flowering stage (33.30%) and least severity was recorded in seedling stage (31.31%).