Assessing the Incidence and Severity of Field Diseases in Marigold (Tagetes erecta) Cultivation: Results from Jashore District, Bangladesh

Abstract

A research investigation was carried out in the Jashore district of Bangladesh to study diseases affecting marigold plants, while the laboratory analyses were conducted in the Plant Disease Study Facility, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka. The experiment was conducted by surveying three farmers from each of the sixteen villages across four unions in Jhikargacha Upazila to document the occurrence and severity of diseases under natural field conditions. The fungal pathogens surveyed in these diseases were six: leaf spot, botrytis blight, flower bud rot, stem rot, foliage blight, white mold-soil-borne diseases. The most important microflora reported to be associated with these diseases include Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria dianthi, Fusarium oxysporum, Curvularia lunata, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Of these, major diseases included leaf spot, botrytis blight, foliage blight or flower and leaf blight, and flower bud rot, while minor diseases included stem rot and white mold. Disease incidence ranged from 0-54.33%, while disease severity varied from 1-24%. The paper is the first record of marigold pathogens in Bangladesh and will be highly useful during disease identification, and it would lead to the better cultivation of marigolds in this area.