Differential Responses of Host and Non-host Substrata on Germination of Ascospores of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Effect of host.(Cicer arietinum L.) and some non-host (Allium cepa L., A. Sativum L., Ocimum sanictum L., Azadirachta indica Juss., Zingiber officinale Roscoe. And Curcuma longa L.) substrata on the germination of ascospores io Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary has been observed. Maximum germination was noticed on flower petals of gram (C.arietinum) with minimum time (2.5 h) for germ tube initiation. Among the non-host substrate germination was completely inhibited on ginger rhizome peeling whereas delayed germination (after 12h) and lowest germination percentage (48%) as compared with other non-hosts, were observed on turmeric rhizome peeling. It is suggested that ginger extract may be effective in controlling stem rot and wilt of gram incited by S. sclerotiorum in the field.