International Journal of Agricultural

Science and Research (IJASR)

ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087
Vol. 6, Issue 3, Jun 2016, 481-488
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd

ECOFRIENDLY APPROACHES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF

BROWN SPOT OF PADDY IN ORGANIC CULTIVATION
NATH NABANITA1 & BORAH P. K.2
1
2

KrishiVigyanKendra, Kamrup, Assam Agricultural University, Assam, India

Department of Plant Pathology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India

ABSTRACT
Efficacy of eight plant extracts viz., tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), neem (Azadirachtaindica), karanja
(Pongamiaglabra), papaya (Carica papaya), aloe (Aloe vera), turmeric (Curcuma longa), lantana (Lantana camera),
thuja (Thujaoccidentalis); three organics viz., Wood ash, rice gruel, vermicompost and one bioagent viz.,
Trichodermaviridewere preliminarily evaluated @ 33 per cent against Bipolarisoryzae in vitro by poisoned food
technique and bioagent by dual culture method. All the extracts, organics and bioagent were found to be significantly
inhibited the radial growth of the pathogen. Out of these, four promising extracts were further tested at different
concentrations viz., 0.10, 0.25 and 0.50 per cent in vitro. Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) was significantly superior in

papaya (Carica papaya). Among the concentrations, 0.5 per cent was significantly superior than the other two
concentrations. Based on the results of in vitro test, the effective plant extracts were further tested at different
concentrations viz., 10, 20 and 30 per cent in pot condition. Results under pot condition showed that seed treatment
with all the four extracts could significantly reduce Percent disease incidence of brown spot of paddy as compared to
control. However, tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) @ 30 per cent showed maximum reduction of disease as compared to others,
but efficacy was lower than carbendazim @ 0.2 per cent.

Original Article

inhibiting the radial growth of Bipolarisoryzae followed by neem (Azadirachtaindica), karanja (Pongamiaglabra) and

KEYWORDS: Bipolarisoryzae, Plant Extracts, Organics, Trichodermaviride, Paddy

Received: May 16, 2016; Accepted: May 31, 2016; Published: Jun 10, 2016; Paper Id.: IJASRJUN2016059

INTRODUCTION
Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important staple food in the world after wheat, especially in Asia
and West Indies. In India, rice occupies an area of 43.8 m ha with an average production of 96.40 million tonnes
with productivity of 2.17 t/ha (Anon., 2012). Every year the demand for rice is growing up gradually due to
population growth and it is estimated that in 2025 AD, the requirement would be 140 million tonnes
(Gujja and Thiyagarajan, 2013). Therefore, future rice production targets must be achieved through only yield
improvement. Rice suffers from a number of fungal diseases.
Among these diseases, Brown spot of rice caused by Bipolarisoryzae (Breda. de Haan) Shoemaker is
important both economically and historically. Brown spot is widely reported across India (Reddy et al., 2010) and
more generally in the South and South-East Asian countries (Savary et al., 2000).
It causes yield losses that, on average, are in the range of 10 per cent of the attainable yield wherever it
occurs (Savary et al., 2006) in the lowlands of tropical and subtropical Asia. Therefore, brown spot is by far one
the strongest yield reducers amongst rice diseases today. Further, there is indication that brown spot is becoming
www.tjprc.org

editor@tjprc.org

482

Nath Nabanita & Borah P. K.

more frequent and severe as drought is becoming more frequent (Savaryet al., 2005), perhaps due to increased variability
in rainfall.
The range of reported yield losses to brown spot, often expressed in relative terms, was variable from 4 to 29 per
cent (Bedi and Gill, 1960), about 12 per cent (Aluko, 1975), from 8 to 23 per cent (Fomba and Singh, 1990) from 26 to 52
per cent (Chakrabarti, 2001). The latter figures represented a broader and higher range because it accounts for losses
caused by grain infection.
A large number of chemicals have been developed for the control of brown spot disease. But, due to overgrowing
hazardous side effects of these chemicals, more and more emphasis is being given on organic agriculture by using
botanicals, biocontrol agents and different organics. Although, attempt has been made to manage the various fungal
diseases of paddy with these agents, not much work have been done on brown spot of paddy. Therefore, an attempt has
been made to study the efficacy of plant extracts, organics and biocontrol agents against brown spot disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Preparation of Antifungal Compounds from Different Plant Products and Organics
Eight plant extracts viz., tulsi, neem, karanja, papaya, aloe, lantana, turmeric and thuja; three organics viz., wood
ash, vermicompost, rice gruel and one bioagent viz., Trichodermaviride were evaluated following standard method.
The aqueous extracts of different plant products and organics were prepared on 100 per cent basis. A stock solution of 100
per cent extract of each component were made by dissolving 1kg of plant product extract and organics each separately with
1litre of sterilized water at room temperature. Fully expanded and healthy leaves or other plant parts were collected fresh
and these were first washed with running tap water to remove dirt materials adhered to their surfaces. The plant parts and
organics (1 g) were then grounded with sterile water (1 ml) at room temperature with mixer grinder. After thorough
grinding, the extracts were first filtered through muslin cloth and then through what man filter paper no. 1. This formed the
standard plant product and organic extract solution of 100 per cent concentration or 1:1 ratio (Sarmah and Gupta, 2003).
Each filterate were further heat sterilized through tyndallization and preserved as stock solution.
In vitro Evaluation of different Plant Extracts, Bioagents and Organics against Bipolarisoryzae
The effect of aqueous extracts of the tested plant products, organics were assessed on mycelial growth of the
pathogen on PDA medium under in vitro by poisoned food technique (Nene and Thaplial, 1979) and bioagent by dual
culture method (Dennish and Webster, 1971). 5 ml of each of the extracts was thoroughly mixed in 15 ml sterilized PDA
medium under aseptic condition i.e. 33 per cent concentration (Singh and Gogoi, 2010). The plates were then inoculated
with a 5 mm disc of 7 day old culture of test pathogen with a control where no extracts were amended with PDA.
The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with four replications and 14 treatments. All the plates
were then incubated at 28 1C. The average radial growth of the colony was measured upto 168 hrs and per cent
inhibition of radial growth was calculated by the formula of Vincent (1927).
In vitro Evaluation of Potential Plant Extracts/ Organics/Bioagent against Bipolarisoryzae at different
Concentrations in vitro
Four promising treatments were further tested against Bipolarisoryzae in their different concentrations viz., 0.10,
0.25, 0.50 per cent respectively by Poisoned food technique (Khalil, 2002) with four replications.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

NAAS Rating: 3.53

Ecofriendly Approaches for the Management of

Brown Spot of Paddy in Organic Cultivation

483

The Potentiality of different Plant Extracts/ Bioagent and Organics in Reducing Incidence of Brown Spot of Paddy
in Organic Cultivation under Pot Condition
The best treatment (s) against brown spot of paddy were evaluated further in pot condition.
Preparation of Suspension of Pathogen for Pot Experiment
Spore suspension of Bipolarisoryzae was prepared from 15 days old culture grown in PDA medium. The spores
were suspended in sterile distilled water and the concentration was adjusted to optical density (OD) @ 680 nm in
spectrophotometer to obtain a fungal population of 1.0 x 107 CFU/ml.
Seed Treatment with Four Promising Treatments
Rice seeds (var. Prafulla) were soaked in the different concentrations (10, 20 and 30%) of effective treatments for
24 hrs. After soaking, the treated seeds were dried in shade for 12 hrs and were sown in pots with four replications.
Disease Record
Symptoms of brown spot disease of paddy were observed critically during the crop season. The observations were
made at 45 DAS and 90 DAS and disease incidence (D I) expressed in terms of percentage was calculated as follows :
D.I. (%) =

No. of infected plant unit

100
Total no. of healthy and infected unit

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In vitro Preliminary Evaluation of Aqueous Plant Extracts, Organics against Bipolarisoryzae
Results revealed that Table 1, irrespective of all the extracts, the radial growth of B. oryzae was reduced as
compared to control producing varying degrees of inhibition. Extract of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) @ 33 per cent
concentration showed significantly higher inhibitory effect on radial growth of Bipolarisoryzaewith increased per cent
inhibition over control followed by neem (Azadirachtaindica), karanja (Pongamiaglabra) and papaya (Carica papaya).
While extract of thuja (Thujaoccidentalis) showed lower inhibitory effect on Bipolarisoryzaewith lower per cent inhibition
over control. Similar observation was reported by Dwivedi and Shukla (2000), they reported that aqueous neem leaf extract
could effectively inhibited the growth of Fusariumspp. Shukla and Singh (1990) also reported that tulsi extract could
effectively inhibited the radial growth of Rhizoctoniasolani. The inhibition of radial growth of B. oryzaeby the plant
extracts might be due to production of some antifungal substances like azadirachtin, nimbicidine etc. Similar observation
was recorded by Sharma and Gupta (2003), revealed that Azadiractaindicaproduced Nimbicidine which reduced the
growth of Rhizoctoniasolanidue to certain antibiotic constituents in the form of phenolic substance and resinous gummy
and non volatile substances. Pawar and Pandit (2014) also recorded that antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Ocimum
sanctum against Xanthomonascampestrispv. mangiferaeindicae in vitro and in vivo.

www.tjprc.org

editor@tjprc.org

484

Nath Nabanita & Borah P. K.

Table 1: Radial Growth of Bipolarisoryzae on different Plant Extracts, Bioagent and

Organics @ 33% Concentration after 168 hrs of Incubation

Tulsi ( Ocimum sanctum )

Radial
Growth
(mm)
14.80

Neem( Azadirachtaindica)

17.00

81.00

Karanja ( Pongamiaglabra)

21.00

76.53

Papaya ( Carica papaya )

26.60

70.27

Wood ash

28.20

68.49

Aloe ( Aloe vera)

32.80

63.35

Lantana (Lantana camera )

53.00

40.78

Turmeric (Curcuma longa )

42.20

52.84

Thuja ( Thujaoccidentalis)

66.70

25.47

10

Vermicompost

45.60

49.05

11

Rice gruel

56.00

37.43

12

Trichodermaviride

29.00

67.59

13

Carbendazim (0.01%)

0.00

100.00

Absolute control
SEd ()
CD

89.50
0.92
1.55

00.00

Treatments
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T

14

0.05

Per cent
Inhibition
Over Control
83.46

Efficacy of Potential Plant Extracts against B.oryzae at different Concentrations

Four potential plant extracts viz., tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), neem (Azadirachtaindica), karanja (Pongamiaglabra)
and papaya (Carica papaya) were tested against B. oryzae at different concentrations (@ 0.10%, 0.25% and 0.50%) in
vitro, by poisoned food technique. Results indicated that Table 2, irrespective of all the treatments of plant extracts
showed significantly higher inhibitory effect on the radial growth of Bipolarisoryzae as compared to control. However,
chemical (Carbendazim @ 0.01%) showed higher inhibitory effect on radial growth of Bipolarisoryzae than the other
treatments with increased highest percent inhibition over control. Among the extracts, tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) @ 0.50 per
cent showed higher inhibitory effect on radial growth of B. oryzaewith higher percent inhibition as compared to other
extracts. While papaya (Carica papaya) @ 0.1 per cent showed lower inhibitory effecton radial growth of pathogen with
lower per cent inhibition. Similar observation was reported by Joseph and Dar (2008), they reported that Ocimum sanctum
and Azadirachtaindica could inhibit the radial growth of Fusariumsolani causing brinjal wilt disease at
differentconcentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent). Hassanein (2008) observed that 5, 10, 15 and 20 per cent concentrations
of neem extract could effectively suppressed the mycelial growth of both species Alternariasolani and
Fusariumoxysporumin tomato. The inhibition of radial growth of B. oryzae might be due to the production of toxic
substances released by the extracts. Similar obsevations were reported by Rathod and Jadhav (2010), they reported that
medicinal plant extract of Azadirachtaindica, Ocimum sanctum, Polyalthialongifolia, Catharanthusroseus showed
inhibitory effect on linear growth of Fusariumoxysporum due to production of antifungal substances like nimbin,
nimbicidine, azadiracht in at different concentrations. Bhatt (2012) also reported antimicrobial activities of Ocimum
sanctum against Aspergillusniger, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli at different concentrations.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

NAAS Rating: 3.53

Ecofriendly Approaches for the Management of

Brown Spot of Paddy in Organic Cultivation

485

Table 2: Radial Growth of B. oryzae at different Plant extracts with different

Concentrations after 168 hrs of Incubation

Tulsi @ 0.10%

Radial
Growth
(mm)
52.70

Tulsi @ 0.25%

26.00

70.94

Tulsi @ 0.50%

23.40

73.85

Neem @ 0.10%

56.70

36.64

Neem @ 0.25%

34.60

61.34

Neem @ 0.50%

32.20

64.02

Karanja @ 0.10%

58.20

34.97

Karanja @ 0.25%

35.70

60.11

Karanja @ 0.50%

34.60

61.34

10

Papaya @ 0.10%

64.00

28.49

11

Papaya @ 0.25%

38.80

56.64

12

Papaya @ 0.50%

37.20

58.43

13

Carbendazim

0.00

100.00

Absolute control
SEd ()
CD

89.50
0.26
0.48

00.00

Treatments
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T
T

14

0.05

Percent
Inhibition
Over Control
41.11

The Potentiality of different Plant Extracts in Reducing Incidence of Brown Spot of Paddy in Organic Cultivation
under Pot Condition
Result revealedthat all the extracts Table 3, irrespective of different concentrations could reduced Percent
disease incidence with increased PDC of brown spot of rice under pot condition, but efficacy was lower than chemical
(Carbendazim 0.2%). Maximum PDI of brown spot of rice was recorded in inoculated control and minimum PDI with
increased PDC recorded with extracts of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) @ 30 per cent which was at par with extract of tulsi
(Ocimum sanctum) @ 20 per cent followed by same extract @ 10 per cent and extract of neem (Azadirachtaindica) extract
@ 20 per cent. Analysis of variance showed that among the extracts used, tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) extracts was found to be
higher in reduction of PDI of brown spot of rice which was followed by neem (Azadirachtaindica), karanja
(Pongamiaglabra) and papaya (Carica papaya), respectively. Among the concentrations, 30 per cent showed significantly
higher reduction of PDI of brown spot of rice than the other two concentrations. The reason might be due to anti-fungal
substances produced by plant extracts which directly or indirectly affected on disease suppression. Results similar to
present investigations were reported by several workers. Tiwari and Nayak (1991), reported that leaf extracts of Ocimum
sanctum was quite effective in reducing the growth of Rhizoctoniasolani in vivo. Singh et al. (2010) reported that foliar
spray of aqueous extract of neem cake showed antifungal efficacy against powdery mildew of balsam. Sunder et al. (2010)
reported that botanicals neemazal, neem gold, garlic reduced leaf spot phase and stalk rot incidence of brown spot of rice.
Prince and Prabakaran (2011) also reported the antifungal activity of eight different medicinal plants namely Aloe vera,
Ocimum

sanctum,

Cenetellaasiatica,

Piper

betle,

Calotropisgigantea,

Vitexnegundo,

Ocimumbasilicum

and

Azadirachtaindica against Colletotrichumfalcatum. Akila (2009) reported that leaf extract of neem was highly effective in
reducing the grain discoloration of rice which was at par with carbendazim.
www.tjprc.org

editor@tjprc.org

486

Nath Nabanita & Borah P. K.

Table 3: Percent Disease Incidence of B. oryzae on different Plant Extracts and

Yield at different Concentrations in Pot Condition
45 Days after Sowing (DAS)*
PDI
PDC
T1 :Tulsi @ 10%
12.63 (3.55)
29.00
T2 :Tulsi @ 20%
11.06 (3.32)
33.60
T3 : Tulsi @ 30%
9.66 (3.10)
38.00
T4 : Neem @ 10%
15.20 (3.89)
22.20
T5 : Neem @ 20%
13.46 (3.66)
26.80
T6 : Neem @ 30%
12.88 (3.58)
28.40
T7 : Karanja@ 10%
18.84 (4.34)
13.20
T8 : Karanja @ 20%
17.76 (4.21)
15.80
T9 : Karanja @30%
16.88 (4.19)
16.20
T10 : Papaya @ 10%
21.43 (4.62)
7.60
T11 : Papaya @ 20%
20.80 (4.56)
8.80
T12 : Papaya @ 30%
19.89 (4.45)
11.00
T13 : Carbendazim @ 0.2%
6.02 (2.45)
51.00
T14 : Control
25.00 (5.00)
00.00
SEd ()
0.20
CD0.05
0.41
*Data within parentheses are square root transformed
**Data within parentheses are angular transformed
Treatments

90 Days after Sowing (DAS)**

PDI
PDC
18.32 (25.36)
43.50
16.13 (23.07)
48.60
13.40 (21.47)
52.17
27.38 (32.85)
26.82
25.04 (30.04)
33.08
21.08 (27.31)
39.16
32.22 (34.57)
29.85
31.80 (34.31)
30.83
23.27 (28.86)
35.70
33.76 (35.55)
20.80
33.39 (35.30)
21.36
33.07 (35.12)
21.76
9.54 (17.95)
60.01
49.89 (44.89)
00.00
1.04
2.17

Yield
(g/hill)
13.82
13.51
15.73
12.02
12.09
12.16
11.23
11.51
11.76
10.66
10.98
11.01
16.52
10.22
0.34
0.71

The Effect of different Plant Extracts against Brown Spot of Paddy in Increasing Yield under Pot Condition
Yield of the crops after harvesting of paddy was recorded i.e. 150 DAS. The plants were weighed on weighing
balance @ gram per hill. The highest yield (15.73 g/hill) was recorded in Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) @ 30 per cent
concentration. While lowest yield (10.66 g/hill) was recorded in papaya (Carica papaya) @ 10 per cent concentration
which was at par with carbendazim @ 0.2 per cent. A careful study of literature revealed that no observation on highest
yield of paddy treated with tulsi extract was recorded against plant pathogens. Sunder and Singh (2010) reported that neem
leaf extract could increased grain yield of rice.

CONCLUSIONS
Although, seed treatment with fungicide (0.2%) was also effective in reducing the incidence of the disease, its
application alone should preferably be avoided because chemical control measures are not eco-friendly for their potentially
hazardous toxic effects.
The present investigation have shown encouraging result in using plant extract as ecofriendly measure against
Bipolarisoryzae causing brown spot of paddy but their efficacy in field condition under rainfed and irrigated condition
should be further evaluated.
REFERENCES
1.

Akila, R. and Ebenezar, E. G. (2009). Ecofriendly approaches for the management of grain discolouration in rice. J. Biol.
Control,23(2), 175-180.

2.

Aluko, M. O. (1975). Crop losses caused by brown leaf spot disease of rice in Nigeria. Plant Dis.,59, 609-613.

3.

Anonymous (2012). Area and Production of rice in India. Retrieved from http//www. India stat.com.

4.

Bedi, K. S. and Gill, H. S. (1960). Losses caused by the brown leaf spot disease in the Punjab. Indian Phytopathol.,13, 161164.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

NAAS Rating: 3.53

Ecofriendly Approaches for the Management of

Brown Spot of Paddy in Organic Cultivation
5.

487

Bhatt, M. K.; Shankar, M. B. and Saluja, A. K. (2012). Evaluation of anti-microbial activity of Ocimum sanctummethanolic
extract. J. Pharmaceut. Sci. Innov., 1(4), 39-41.

6.

Chakrabarti, N. K. (2001). Epidemiology and disease management of brown spot of rice in India. In: Major Fungal Disease of
Rice: Recent Advances. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 293-306.

7.

Dennish, C. and Webster, J. (1971). Antagonistic properties of species group of Trichoderma. Brit. Mycola Soc., 57(3), 363369.

8.

Dwivedi, B. P. and Shukla, D. N. (2000). Effect of leaf extracts of some medicinal plants on spore germination of some
Fusariumsp. Karnataka J. Agri. Sci., 13(1), 153-154.

9.

Fomba, S. N. and Singh, N. (1990). Crop losses caused by brown spot disease in mangrove swamps of North Sierra Leone.
Trop. Pst. Mgnt., 36, 387-393.

10. Gujja, B. and Thiyagarajan, T. M. (2013). New hope for Indian food security. The system of rice intensification, Gatekeeper
series, No. 143, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London.
11. Hassanein, N. M. and Youssef, K. A. (2008). Efficacy of leaf extracts of Neem (Azadirachtaindica) and Chinberry
(Meliaazedrach) against early blight and wilt disease of tomato, Aust. J. Bas. Appld. Sci., 21(3), 763-772.
12. Joseph, B. and Kumar, V. (2008). Bioefficacy of plant extracts to control Fusarimsolanif.sp. melanogenaeincitant of brinjal
wilt. Global J. Biotechnol. Biochem., 3(2), 56-59.
13. Khalil A. L.; Hassouna, M. S. and Ibrahim, H. A. (2002). In situ and in vitro suppressive effect of agricultural composts and
their water extracts on some phytopathogenic fungi. World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 18, 551-558.
14. Pawar, B. T. and Pandit, B. D. (2014). Antibacterial activity of leaf extracts of Ocimum sanctum L. against
Xanthomonascampestrispv. mangiferaeindicae
15. Prince, L. and Prabakaran, P. (2011). Antifungal activity of medicinal plants against plant pathogenic fungus
Colletotrichumfalcatum. Asian J. Pl. Sci. Res., 1(1), 84-87.
16. Rathod, L. R. and Jadhav, M. D. (2010). Utilization of medicinal plants to control seed borne pathogens of Legume seeds.
Intern. J. Adv. Biotechnol. Res. 1: 57-59.
17. Reddy, C. S. et al. (2010). Characterizing multiple linkages between individual diseases, crop health syndromes, germplasm
deployment and rice production situations in India. Fld. Crops Res., 120, 241-253.
18. Savary, S.; Castilla, N. P.; Elazegui, F. A. and Teng, P. S. (2005). Multiple effects of two drivers of agricultural change,
labour shortage and water scarcity, on rice pest profiles in tropical Asia. Fld. Crops Res. 91: 263-271.
19. Savary, S.; Teng, P. S.; Willocquet, L. and Nutter, F. W. (2006). Quantification and modeling of crop losses: a review of
purposes. Ann. Rev. Phytopathol. 44: 89-112.
20. Shukla, R. P. and Singh, R. K. (1990). Toxicity of essential oils against RhizoctoniasolaniKuehn., fungus causing sheath blight
in rice, IRRN 15, 27.
21. Singh, P. K. and Gogoi, A. K. (2010). Plant leaf extract and bioagents for ecofriendly management in Pigeon pea caused by
Fusariumudum. Indian Phytopathol., 63(3), 343-344.
22. Singh, U. P. et al. (2010). Phenolic acid change in mycelia of Sclerotiumrolfsii as influenced by neem cake and Zephyarenthes
citrine bulb. Arch. of Phytopathol. Pl. Protect., 43(2), 160-167.
23. Sunder, S. and Singh, R. (2010). Evaluation of fungicides, botanicals and non-conventional chemicals against brown spot of
www.tjprc.org

editor@tjprc.org

488

Nath Nabanita & Borah P. K.

rice. Indian Phytopathol., 63(2), 192-194.
24. Tiwari, S. N. and Nayak, M. (1991). Activity of four plant leaf extracts against three fungal pathogens of rice. Trop. Agric.,
68(4), 373-375.
25. Vincent, J. M. (1927). Distortion of fungal hyphae in presence of certain inhibitors. Nature, 159, 850.

Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7987

NAAS Rating: 3.53