ALLIUM DISEASES: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Allium crops were well known slightly perishable spicy vegetables. It is highly valued as anti drug, odor and flouring agents. The success of alliums global market is its inherent ability to be stored for long time. About 35-40% crop is lost due to damage caused by field and storage diseases. The fungal bulb rot imparts to about 15-30% losses during storage of different varieties. There are diverse fungal, oomycetes and bacterial pathogens like Alternaria porri, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis allii, Colletotrichum circinans, Dikeya chrysanthemi, Erwinia carotovora, Fuarium oxysporum, Peronospora destructor, Phytophthora nicotianae, Pythium spp., Rhizopus stolonifer, and some viral agents which attacks alliums during the field and post-harvest storage period. Amongst all Alternaria porri is the most virulent fungal pathogen in the field. The preventive approach of using fungicides to reduce the disease incidence is insufficient to provide safe for human consumption and may be hazardous for the human health due to residual impact issues. Therefore, it is mandatory to develop novel integrated strategies to reduce the crop losses by the potent application of newer molecules, bio agents and adotation of sanitation, crop rotation or in the form of combinations.