DOI: 10.36347/sjavs.2017.v04i07.002

Pages: 264-266

Abstract: Damping off is a typical issue in tomato nursery beds in all over the world which affects the cultivation and cause significant losses to farmers. Concerning the elimination of chemical pesticide applications in agriculture, cultivation of disease resistant varieties as a preventive measure for control this disease is highly desirable. In this aspect, an experiment was carried out at the Eastern University, Sri Lanka during the period of April to May 2017 to find out the level of resistance of tomato varieties against damping off disease under the climatic conditions of Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka. Five tomato varieties namely Thilina, K. C. 01, Rajitha, Money Maker and Platinum 701 F1 were selected for the experiment and laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Among these varieties tested, significantly highest germination percentage (p<0.05) was recorded in Platinum 701 F1 and the least was in Thilina. The highest disease severity and infection percentage were registered in Thilina and Money Maker whereas the least values were witnessed by Platinum 701 F1 and Rajitha. Therefore, Platinum 701 F1 and Rajitha can be suggested to the farmers as resistant varieties for damping off disease especially for the cultivation of tomato under the climatic conditions of Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka. Hence, these resistant varieties can be used to improve the quantity and quality of the yield while reducing the negative impact of chemicals on human health as well as on environment.