Efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens in Suppressing Pea Wilt

Pea is an important legume crop widely cultivated for its nutritional and economic value. Its production is often limited by wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. pisi, a soil-borne fungal pathogen that can lead to severe yield losses. In the present study, the field demonstrations were conducted during Rabi seasons 2024–25 in village Kot Mohammad Khan of Tarn Taran district. The goal was to study the influence of seed treatments and sowing time on wilt disease incidence, plant growth and yield performances in peas under field conditions. The experiment included five seed treatment methods: T1 (Pseudomonas fluorescens), T2 (Captan), T3 (P. fluorescens + Captan), T4 (Untreated Control) and T5 (Farmers' Practice). Among the treatments, T3 (combined application of P. fluorescens and Captan) was most effective in reducing wilt incidence (6.33%) and severity (1.2%) under natural field conditions. It also resulted in significant improvements in plant height (70.5 cm), pod number (9.2), seeds per pod (9.5), pod weight (8.2 g), and maximum yield (13.43 q/ha). Control plots had the highest disease incidence (12.98%) and the lowest yield (11.57 q/ha). Sowing from mid-October to mid-November resulted in lower disease levels and higher yields across all treatments, with T3 achieving the highest yield (12.78 q/ha) and the lowest disease incidence (7.2%). This study concluded that using an integrated seed treatment with P. fluorescens and Captan, along with optimized sowing times, is an effective strategy for managing wilt disease and improving yield in pea cultivation under Punjab's agro-climatic conditions.