Shashank Shekhar, Ramesh Singh, Prashant Mishra, Jameel Akhtar, Hem Singh, Amit Kumar4 and Rashmi
Abstract
The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of silver nanoparticles, botanicals, and antibiotics in managing Phytoplasma-induced little leaf disease in brinjal and their impact on growth and yield parameters over two consecutive seasons (2023-24 and 2024-25). Disease incidence was recorded at 10-day intervals from 60 to 180 days after transplanting (DAT). Results indicated a gradual increase in disease incidence over time in all the treatments; however, treated plants exhibited a significantly lower rate of increase compared to the untreated control. Among the treatments, silver nanoparticles at 100 ppm (T3) consistently demonstrated the lowest disease incidence (10.49%), followed by tylosin at 100 ppm (T12) (13.36%) and turmeric extract at 100 ppm (21.96%). In contrast, the untreated control (T13) recorded the highest incidence; reaching 89.6% at 180 DAT. Growth and yield parameters were also significantly improved in treated plants. T3 (AgNPs @ 100 ppm) recorded the highest plant height (60.2 cm), number of primary branches (11.4), fruits per plant (18.7), and fruit yield per plant (522.4 g), followed by T12 and T6 (CuNPs @ 100 ppm). The untreated control showed the poorest performance across all parameters. These findings highlight the potential of silver nanoparticles, particularly at 100 ppm, as an effective treatment for managing little leaf disease in brinjal, leading to enhanced plant growth and yield.