Abstract
The objective of this study was to determine whether resistance inducers could protect cumin against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cumini (FO7), a root-infecting pathogen. Three resistance inducers (RIs)Bion (BTH), ascorbic acid (ASC), and salicylic acid (SA) were applied as seed treatment to test their efficacy in controlling cumin damping-off and wilt disease caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. cumini under greenhouse conditions. In greenhouse experiments, all of the treatments used to protect cumin seedlings from FO7 were found to be effective. The percentage of disease severity (DS%) was significantly reduced by as much as 73% with ASC treatment, while damping-off was significantly reduced by as much as 75.7% relative to the infected control. In general, all of the treatments used at a concentration of 6 mM significantly reduced the DS% compared to the untreated controls. Peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase increased in all of the treatments relative to the infected control. All of the treatments increased the plant height, fresh and dry weights of the cumin plants compared to the untreated controls. In conclusion, the studied chemical inducers are promising candidates for the control of cumin wilt.