Suppression of Brassicaceous tissue on Meloidogyne javanica in a rhizosphere

Abstract

Root-knot nematodes are important pests of Solanaceous crops, especially tomato and egg-plant, in glasshouses and fields of Iran. Brassicaceous plants once incorporated into soil as green manures have recently been demonstrated to possess anti-phytopathogenic properties. The goal of the research was to evaluate the suppressive effect of chopped tissue of five Brassicaceous species (rapeseed, cabbage, garden cress, mustard greens and flixweed) on the reproduction and galling of Meloidogyne javanica on tomato as a host plant, and on the host plant growth properties. A pot experiment was conducted on seedlings of tomato cv. Super Chief-grown in 1kg steam-sterilized sandy loam soil. Inoculum used for artificial inoculation was 10 J2/g soil of the nematode, and was considered at rates 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g/kg soil of the Brassicaceous chopped tissue. The nematicide RUGBY® 10 G (Cadusafos) was used as a reference product at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 g/kg soil. Two months after inoculation, the number of knots, egg masses and reproduction factor of the nematode, and growth properties of the host plant in treatments based on a completely randomized design (with descending order): control, nematode, nematode+nematicide, and nematode+Brassicaceous chopped tissue combinations were assessed. Results indicated that the combination nematode+Brassicaceous chopped tissue led to the suppressive effect on M. javanica activity. Tomato plant growth properties were greatly enhanced in treatments of the Brassicaceous chopped tissue. The least to the greatest level of the nematode activity was observed in rapeseed, garden cress, cabbage, mustard greens and flixweed treatments, respectively.