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

Antifungal activity of aqueous extracts of above ground parts (leaves + shoots) of eight weeds ageratum conyzoides l., parthenium hysterophorus l., datura metel l. convolvulus arvensis l., calotropis procera aiton., agremone mexicana l., senna occidentalis l. and amaranthus viridis l. were examined against macrophomina phaseolina. fungicidal activity of test extracts was measured on growth and sclerotial development at 1, 2 and 3% dose levels by using food poison technique. all test weed species except p. hysterophorus showed maximum inhibition activity at their highest (3%) concentration. datura metel exhibited 75.9% inhibition at 3% extract, followed by c. procera (63%) and c. arvensis (60%). least inhibition of 11.2% was noticed in a. viridis treatments whereas intermediate growth inhibition ranging from 20-41% was exhibited by higher (3%) concentration of s. occidentalis, a. mexicana and a. conzydus. moreover, no sclerotial production was observed at all extracts concentarion of c. procera, d. metel and p. hysterophorus. while a. viridis, s. occidentalis, a. mexicana, c. arvenis and a. conyzoides extract exhibited 29-70% reduction in number and 23-63% in size of sclerotia at 3% concentration. present investigation concluded that weeds can be utilized for the management of m. phaseolina which caused charcoal rot of s. indicum.