Management of Postharvest Rot in Elephant Foot Yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) under Telangana Conditions

Postharvest rot is a major biotic constraint affecting the storability, marketability, and availability of healthy planting material in elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius). The disease is primarily initiated through mechanical injuries incurred during harvesting and postharvest handling, while the high moisture and starch content of corms create favourable conditions for pathogen establishment and rapid tissue deterioration. The postharvest rot complex is caused by several soil-borne pathogens, with Sclerotium rolfsii being the predominant causal organism. A field experiment was conducted during 2020-2023 under the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Tuber Crops at the Vegetable Research Station, SKLTSHU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, to evaluate the efficacy of pre-storage treatments for managing postharvest rot in the elephant foot yam cultivar 'Gajendra'. The experiment was laid out in a randomised block design with seven treatments and three replications. Pre-storage dipping of corms in a combination fungicide containing mancozeb + carbendazim (0.2%) was the most effective treatment, recording the lowest mean rot incidence (0.5), followed by treatment with Trichoderma harzianum at 5 g kg⁻¹ corm applied in cow dung slurry, which resulted in a mean rot incidence of 3.0. In contrast, the untreated control recorded the highest mean rot incidence (7.4). The findings indicate that pre-storage fungicidal treatment with mancozeb + carbendazim provides greater protection against postharvest rot, whereas T. harzianum-based treatment represents a sustainable alternative for integrated postharvest disease management in elephant foot yam.