Crop rotation and intercropping with marigold are effective for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne sp.) control in angelica (Angelica sinensis) cultivation

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the control efficiency of crop rotation (CR) and intercropping systems for root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne sp.) in angelica (Angelica sinensis). Plants of angelica were intercropped with marigold (Tagetes erecta) plants in row-intercropping (RI) and plant-intercropping (PI) models in 2013. The continuous cropping (CC) model and sole cropping (SC) were used as the controls. The density change rate of nematodes in CR models (−83.63% and −72.61%) was lower than those in CC models. The CR model in 2013 showed the highest nematode control efficiency (44.83%), angelica yield (199.49 kg plot−1), and output value (65971.50 yuan Renminbi ha−1), and were the highest amongst the five models. The RI model showed a lower density change rate of nematodes (−23.34%) and a higher control efficiency for disease (36.63%) compared with the SC model. Both the rotation and intercropping models were efficient for controlling nematodes in angelica, and the rotation model was more effective than the intercropping models.