Castor, a non-edible oilseed crop, has immense industrial value. India is the world’s largest producer of castor and meets most of the global demand of castor oil. Gray mold is among the most destructive disease of castor in India. The area under castor cultivation is continuously declining due to the incidence of gray mold, especially in the southern States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Disease epidemics have been reported in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states during 1985-1987, after which the gray mold started appearing year after year causing serious problems to castor farmers, thus limiting castor production in the country. This article provides an overview of the disease, etiology, symptoms, epidemiology, disease management and future outlook for gray mold disease in castor.
V. Ramya*
College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Telangana (500 030), India
P. Bindu Priya
Agricultural College, Palem, Nagarkurnool, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, Telangana (509 215), India
S. Ameer Basha
R. Sunitha Devi
Ramya, V., Bindu Priya, P., Ameer Basha, S., Sunitha Devi, R., 2021. Gray Mold of Castor and Its Management. Biotica Research Today 3(8), 694-695.
Prasad, R.D., Raoof, M.A., Senthilvel, S., Dinesh Kumar, V., Praduman, Y., Bhuvaneswari, R., Varaprasad, K.S., 2016. Gray mold of castor. Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, pp. 1-40.