Vol. 9, Issue 5, Part A (2025)

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important legume crop valued for its high nutritional content and soil-enriching ability through nitrogen fixation. Despite its significance, chickpea cultivation is severely constrained by dry root rot (DRR), a destructive disease primarily caused by Rhizoctonia bataticola (syn. Macrophomina phaseolina), a soil-and seed-borne fungus with a wide host range. The disease is most prevalent during the flowering and podding stages under conditions of high temperature and low soil moisture, leading to rapid wilting and plant death due to xylem blockage by fungal mycelium and sclerotia. The present study aimed to isolate and identify the causal pathogen and evaluate the antifungal efficacy of selected botanicals under in vitro conditions. Ten medicinally important plant species were tested using the poisoned food technique at 10% and 20% concentrations. Results revealed that Andrographis paniculata (Kalmegh) exhibited the highest mycelial growth inhibition (50.92%), followed by Zingiber officinale (Ginger), Allium sativum (Garlic), and Capsicum annuum (Chilli), with 47.80%, 44.83%, and 41.98% inhibition, respectively. In contrast, Curcuma longa (Turmeric) and Allium cepa (Onion) showed the least inhibitory effects. These findings highlight the potential of plant-based extracts as eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to synthetic fungicides in the management of DRR in chickpeas.