Evaluation of foliar sprays of biocontrol agents, botanicals and fungicides for the production of healthy rice seed in the coastal ecosystem

The effect of foliar spraying with Pseudomonas fluorescens + butter milk (0.5 %), P. fluorescens (0.5 %), neem seed kernel extract (5 %) neem oil (3 %), Copper hydroxide (0.25 %), Propiconazole (0.1 %), Carbendazim (0.1 %) + Mancozeb (0.1 %) at booting and again at 50 % flowering against major diseases of rice during Rabi season was investigated in comparison with water spray under natural condition. Among them, P. fluorescens + butter milk recorded minimum sheath rot, false smut and grain discolouration at par with P. fluorescens, Propiconazole and Carbendazim + Mancozeb and significantly higher seed yield. Six fungal species including Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Bipolaris oryzae, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme and Sarocladium oryzae were isolated from the seed samples after harvest and six months of storage in gunny bags under ambient condition. The population of storage fungi increased slightly on contrary to pathogenic fungi with storage. Seeds contaminated with relatively low level of mycoflora invariability exhibited more than 80 per cent germination after six months of storage. The seed samples collected from either P. fluorescens + butter milk (0.5 %) or P. fluorescens (0.5 %) sprayed plants recorded minimum mycoflora and maximum germination after six months of storage.