Ascochyta Blight of Chickpea

Abstract

Ascochyta blight (Ascochyta rabiei) which is also called as anthracnose is the most important yield increasing fungal disease in chickpea production over the world and usually depends on winter rains. Symptoms of disease usually appear around flowering and podding time as patches of blighted plants in the field. Typical circular spots appear on leaves and pods, elongated lesions on stem, and deep cankerous lesions on seeds. Present research was made to an evaluation of ascochyta blight, main symptoms, disease cycle, combating etc. subjects on the light of United States of America model where the country is a good model in terms of pulse production besides powerful agricultural economy and to try finding issues about increasing the pulse production for better health and economic development. Survey questions were gathered between 2011 and 2015 in 10 States of USA by reporting the answers of totally 300 farmers. Results of the study showed that, the managed areas are relatively bigger, growers have close collaborations with agricultural foundations and especially with the universities and legumes act in rotation. Certified seed using is rare while seed treatments for diseases is applied but the farmers are suffering from anthracnose still. Main aspects of the farmers are disease control and yield stability. According to the results of the present research, there is need to well planned rotation, development of new chickpea cultivars for the desired characteristics especially for disease resistance and wide adaptation ability by consider economic development and sustainability in agriculture, growers should not use the seeds which harvested from ascochyta-infested crop, treat seed with fungicides, deep farming of chickpea fields to bury infested debris and removing of remaining debris from the field is necessary as well.