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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp9 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Comparative efficacy of new-generation fungicides against major fungal diseases of rice

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.16526
Submitted
3 July 2026
Published
13-10-2026

Abstract

A field study was conducted during the kharif seasons of 2023 and 2024 at the Rice Research Unit, Agricultural Research Institute, Rajendranagar, using a randomised block design (RBD) with 8 treatments and 4 replications to evaluate the efficacy of seven multi-active combination fungicides against three predominant fungal diseases of rice in Telangana, namely sheath blight, blast and grain discolouration, which limit rice productivity and grain quality under intensive production systems. Significant differences were observed among the fungicidal treatments in terms of disease suppression, grain yield and economic returns (p < 0.05). Pooled analysis revealed that Azoxystrobin 5.1 % + Tebuconazole 9.1 % + Prochloraz 18.2 % emulsifiable concentrate (EC) was the most effective treatment, registering the lowest sheath blight severity of 21.8 % and an area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) of 563.3, compared to the untreated control, which exhibited 59.2 % severity and an AUDPC of 1439.6. The above combination fungicide also recorded a lower percentage of neck blast and grain discolouration (4.9 % and 13.7 %, respectively) compared to the untreated control (16.6 % and 27.2 %, respectively). Furthermore, the Azoxystrobin 5.1 % + Tebuconazole 9.1 % + Prochloraz 18.2 % EC treatment accrued the highest pooled grain yield (6142 kg ha-1) with a 31.9 % increase in yield over the untreated control and the highest incremental cost–benefit ratio (1 : 5.5). These findings indicate that the combination fungicide Azoxystrobin 5.1 % + Tebuconazole 9.1 % + Prochloraz 18.2 % EC, representing the strobilurin, triazole and imidazole fungicide groups, is an effective option for the simultaneous management of major fungal diseases of rice while improving grain yield and economic returns under field conditions.

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