Sustainable Management of Root Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita through Organic Amendment on Solanum lycopersicum L.

Aims: To evaluate the nematicidal potential of wild spinach powder in combination with fresh chopped leaves of different plants viz., Indian mallow, Mexican poppy, Ivy gourd, Trailing eclipta, Wild eggplant and Black pigweed against Meloidogyne incognita on plant growth characters of tomato cv. K-21.

Place and Duration of Study: A glasshouse pot experiment was carried out in the Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

Methodology: A mixture of soil and organic manure was prepared in the ratio 3:1. The pots were treated with fresh chopped leaves of different plants viz., Indian mallow, Mexican poppy, Ivy gourd, Trailing eclipta, Wild eggplant and Black pig weed applied 50 g of fresh chopped leaves of plants were applied combined with seed powder 10 g of seed powder of Black nightshade”.

Results: Combined application of wild spinach powder along with the fresh chopped leaves of all the plants suppressed pathogenic effect of nematode and thereby resulted in significant reduction in Meloidogyne incognita infestation and population density of Meloidogyne incognita in soil. The highest reduction in Meloidogyne incognita infestation was reported in plants employed with 10 g of wild spinach powder combined with 50 g of Mexican poppy leaves. Plants applied 10 g of wild spinach powder combined with 50 g of Mexican poppy leaves were the best followed by 50 g of Trailing eclipta, 50 g of Wild eggplant, 50 g of Black pigweed, 50 g of Indian mallow, 50 g of Ivy gourd in the descending order. However the lowest reduction was recorded with the application 10 g of wild spinach powder plus 50 g of fresh chopped Ivy gourd. Organic additives of wild spinach powder along with the fresh chopped leaves would work for sustainable management by increasing the nutrient status of the soil which further enhances the plant growth.

Conclusion: The application of Mexican poppy, Trailing eclipta and Wild eggplant in combination with wild spinach powder are quite efficient alternatives of chemical nematicides for the Meloidogyne incognita management and yield enhancement. Although the utilization of chopped leaves of Indian mallow and Ivy gourd along with wild spinach powder is not potentially active replacement of synthetic nematicides however further characterization is needed.