Comparison of reduction of Verticillium wilt disease by using Talaromyces flavus microcapsule with the conventional method of farmers in potato fields in Hamedan province

Abstract

Verticillium wilt is one of the most important potato diseases. Due to the soil-borne nature of the agents of this disease (Verticillium dahliae and Verticillium albo-atrum), its control by chemical methods is not easily possible. The use of soil-based inhibitors can be considered a suitable method. During the implementation of a previous research project on the possibility of reducing the incidence of important fungal diseases of cotton with agents Verticillium dahliae and Rhizoctonia solani by using biological products Talaromyces flavus (liquid formulations, suspension microcapsules, powder microcapsules and Talaromin), it was found that suspension microcapsules were successful in reducing the incidence of the studied diseases and enhancing vegetative traits, including increasing yield, and its application method was easier than the other two types of products. With regard to the implementation of this project, a preliminary study was first conducted using the four aforementioned formulations in potato crops, and the most effective formulations in terms of reducing disease and increasing yield were liquid and microcapsule powder formulations, both of which were used in the research-promotion project. In this project, with the cooperation of the Extension Coordination Management of the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Hamadan Province, a two-hectare farm in Hamadan County with a history of infection with Verticillium wilt disease was selected to apply two effective formulations (powder microcapsule and liquid formulation) and compare them with the condition without the use of the formulation. The comparison of the two treatments with the use of the effective formulations of powder microcapsule and liquid formulation with the control treatment (without the use of the formulation) was carried out with the t test in terms of the percentage of disease occurrence and the percentage of severity of Verticillium wilt disease, and finally the yield was estimated. An economic comparison was made between the method of application of the biological product Talaromyces flavus with the conventional method of the operators. In this comparison, it was found that the effective liquid and microcapsule powder formulations, applied by seed impregnation, reduced disease severity by 73.33 and 66.66 percent, respectively, and increased yield by 25.96 and 27.08 percent, compared to the control.