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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Eco-friendly management of early blight disease caused by Alternaria solani in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13722
Submitted
18 January 2026
Published
31-08-2026

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important vegetable crop belonging to the family Solanaceae. The early blight of tomato caused by Alternaria solani is a major constraint for the production and productivity of tomato. The present studies were undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of botanicals, by-products of cow and bioagents in vitro and in vivo conditions during the rabi season (2022–23 and 2023–24). The in vitro experiment was carried out by completely randomised design (CRD), whereas the in vivo experiment was laid out in an randomised block design(RBD) design. The results showed that in plant extracts, the minimum radial growth (mm) of A. solani was recorded with garlic bulb extract at 15 % (28.89 mm), followed by NSKE at 15 % (40.51 mm), while in cow by-products, cow urine at 15 % recorded the minimum radial growth (38.98 mm). Moreover, in bioagents, T. harzianum noted minimum radial growth (34.44 mm) of A. solani, followed by P. fluorescens (36.01 mm). Under field conditions, the minimum disease intensity was observed in treatment with A. sativum at 10  % concentration, which was at par with T. harzianum and followed by P. fluorescens and cow urine. These findings support sustainable disease management strategies, reducing chemical dependence, enhancing yield stability, farmer profitability, environmental safety and crop resilience.

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