Eco-Friendly Management of Root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita using Organic amendments on Tomato

Abstract

Chemical control of plant-parasitic nematodes, essentially, involves the use of synthetic nematicides. However, apart from its very high cost, increased concern for the environment has necessitated a reduction in the amount of nematicides used for nematode control. Additionally, there has been an increase in the intensity of search for other efficient, ecologically sound and safe control methods. The screen house experiments were conducted to test the efficacy of five organic wastes rice husk, saw dust, cow urine, cow dung and neem cake to control the root knot nematode of tomato. Equal quantities of rice husk, saw dust, cow urine, cow dung and neem cake were separately made up to one liter with autoclaved soil. Two weeks old seedlings of tomato raised in autoclaved soil were transplanted into soil manure mixture and inoculated with one thousand second stage larvae of Meloidogyne incognita race I. Treatments were completely randomized and effects assessed based on plant height, dry weight, extent of galling and the nematode multiplication factor. Results obtained showed that rice husk, saw dust, cow urine, cow dung and neem cake produced significantly higher result than the untreated control.