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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

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

Disease prevalence, symptomatology and epidemiology of stem rot of rapeseed-mustard in Bihar, India

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.14551
Submitted
15 March 2026
Published
05-08-2026

Abstract

Rapeseed-mustard is one of the major oilseed crops known for its high-quality edible oil containing approximately 38–42 % oil. The crop thrives well under cool climatic conditions with an optimum temperature range of 10–25 °C and is widely cultivated across temperate and subtropical regions. In India, the productivity of rapeseed-mustard is increasingly threatened by several fungal diseases, among which stem rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has emerged as a major constraint to productivity. The present investigation was aimed at studying the natural occurrence, symptomatology and epidemiology of stem rot disease of rapeseed-mustard. A field survey conducted across Samastipur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga districts of Central Bihar in rabi, 2023–24 and 2024–25 revealed a high disease incidence. Symptomatic plants exhibited water-soaked stem lesions progressing to necrosis, white mycelial growth and internal sclerotial formation, often leading to stem breakage and plant mortality. Laboratory isolation and pathogenic confirmation based on morphological features along with molecular (ITS1/4 primer pairs) studies identified S. sclerotiorum as the causal agent, with characteristic fluffy white mycelium and concentric sclerotia observed on PDA medium. Microscopic analysis confirmed hyaline, branched hyphae. The disease severity was found to be higher during January than November–December due to favourable environmental conditions such as high humidity, low temperature and prolonged moisture. The studies of environmental factors with the help of a regression model explained the disease prediction model up to R² = 89.26 % of lesion progression variability. Area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) value came out as 456.4, i.e., the variety DRMR-150-35 is under the moderately resistant category. The study underscores the urgent need for resistant cultivar development and effective disease management strategies to mitigate significant yield losses in mustard cultivation. The findings of the present investigation provide valuable insights for disease forecasting, sustainable crop protection and the development of integrated management strategies to enhance productivity and resilience in rapeseed-mustard cultivation.

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