NATURAL INCIDENCE OF MOSAIC DISEASE OF PUMPKIN (Cucurbita moschata) AND ITS MANAGEMENT THROUGH AVOIDANCE

Common mosaic is the most destructive disease of pumpkin in West Bengal, causing a considerable amount of damage to crops. Experiments were conducted on the natural incidence of pumpkin mosaic and their management under the agro-ecological condition of the lateritic zone of West Bengal during the season of 2015-2016.An incidence range of 16.85% -61.16% common mosaic and a range of 8.25% - 18.10% incidence of yellow vein mosaic were observed according to the location and variety. The impact of a standard mosaic of pumpkin was found to be significantly influenced by changing the date of sowing. Late sowing of crop significantly reduced the disease and reached at the minimum level of 29.60% in the field which was sown after 30 days late of the scheduled time of sowing i.e. the second week of November. An increase of 8.68% in yield was recorded with 10 days late sowing crop. Significant differences existed among the various dates of sowing regarding yield. The percentage of yield reduction was varied from 39.02 to 49.25%, and overall an average of 45.56% reduction in pumpkin yield was noticed due to the infection of common mosaic disease.