Studies on the Anamorph Characters and Management of Powdery Mildew of Mustard

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of pathogen on five cultivars of mustard viz. Varuna, Alankar, Kranti, RH-30, and Pusa Bahar obtained from NRCRM, Bharatpur. It has been observed that the conidia of Erysiphe cruciferarum were ellipsoid to cylindrical in shape, measuring 27.5-35.0μm x 12.5-17.5μm without fibrosin bodies. The conidia germinated by the formation of straight but two types of germ tubes i.e. short but slightly lobed appressoria and long unlobed appressoria. The length of germ tube ranged 20-30μm. It was observed that the optimum temperature for the germination of conidia was between 20-25°C±2°C. The most effective fungicide was found to be Hexaconazole for the management of powdery mildew.