Susceptibility of crop plants to the rootknot nematode Meloidogyne luci, a threat to agricultural productivity

Abstract

The root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne luci is included in the Alert List of the European Plant Protection Organization, because it has potential negative impacts on economically important crops. Identification of plant species/cultivars resistant to M. luci is important for its management. Susceptibility of 35 commercial plant species/cultivars, from nine families to a M. luci isolate from Portugal was evaluated in pot assays, assessing root gall index (GI) and reproduction factor (Rf) 60 d after inoculation, with tomato ‘Coração-de-Boi’ used as the positive susceptible experimental control. Presence/absence of RKN resistance genes was also determined in the tomato and pepper cultivars. One cultivar of cabbage, three of lettuce, ten of pepper, one of sugar beet, and all the cultivars of Cucurbitaceae (five), Fabaceae (two) and Poaceae (one) were susceptible to M. luci (GI = 4-5; Rf = 2.1-152.3). One cultivar each of carrot, passion fruit, lettuce ‘Cocktail’, cabbage ‘Bacalan’, ‘Coração’ and ‘Lombarda’, and spinach ‘Tayto’ were resistant/hypersensitive (Rf<1; GI > 2). The tomato ‘Actimino’, ‘Briomino’, ‘Veinal’ and ‘Vimeiro’, which carried at least one copy of the Mi-1.2 gene, were resistant to the nematode (GI = 1-2; 0.0