IN VITRO INHIBITORY ACTIVITY OF WEEDS EXTRACTS AGAINST Macrophomina phaseolina ASSOCIATED WITH CHARCOAL ROT OF Sesamum indicum

Antifungal activity of aqueous extract s of above ground parts (leaves + shoots) of eight weeds Ageratum c onyzoides L., Parthenium hysterophorus L., Datura metel L. Convolvulus arvensis L., Calotropis proc era Aiton., Agremone Mexic ana L., Senna oc c identalis L. and Amaranthus viridis L. were examined against Macrophomina phaseolina. Fungic idal activity of test extracts was measured on growth and sc lerotial development at 1, 2 and 3% dose levels by using food poison tec hnique. All test weed species exc ept P. hysterophorus showed maximum inhibition ac tivit y at their highest (3%) c onc entration. Datura metel exhibited 75.9% inhibition at 3% extract, followed by C. proc era (63%) and C. arvensis (60%). Least inhibition of 11.2% was notic ed in A. viridis treatment s whereas intermediate growth inhibition ranging from 20-41% was exhibited by higher (3%) c onc entration of S. oc c identalis, A. Mexic ana and A. c onzydus. Moreover, no sc lerotial production was observed at all extracts c onc entarion of C. proc era, D. metel and P. hysterophorus. While A. viridis, S. oc c ident alis, A. Mexic ana, C. arvenis and A. c onyzoides extract exhibited 29-70% reduction in number and 23-63% in size of sc lerotia at 3% c onc entration. Present investigation c onc luded that weeds c an be utilized for the management of M. phaseolina which caused charcoal rot of S. indic um.