A resistant pepper used as a trap cover crop in vegetable production strongly decreases root-knot nematode infestation in soil

Abstract

Root-knot nematodes are causing serious economic losses of vegetable production. Actual agroecological control solutions are not effective enough to control this pest or are difficult to implement in farms. There is little knowledge on the use of crops to trap nematodes in protected cultivation systems. Therefore, we tested a resistant pepper as a trap crop for root-knot nematodes over 4 years in a commercial farm and an experimental station in Southern France. The effects of pepper trap crop on plant damages and soil infestation were compared with a sorghum cover crop. We also surveyed 28 local vegetable farmers for their interest concerning the possible use of the pepper trap crop. Our results show that nematode infestation of the soil decreased by 99 and 80%after the first and second implementation of the trap crop. The gall index measured on Swiss chard decreased from 2.5 to less than 1 after 4 years. Respectively, 21 and 36 % of farmers found the cropping system completely and partially acceptable. The most interested farmers were those having sufficient labor and available land in summer. Farmer criticisms were higher nursery costs and planting duration, versus sorghum. Overall, this is the first design of a cropping system using a resistant cultivar as a dead-end trap crop for root-knot nematodes. The process used, moving from a genetic construct to agronomic innovation through an interdisciplinary and participatory approach, holds promise for scientists seeking new integrated pest management approaches to increase the sustainability of agriculture

Piriformospora indica promotes cucumber tolerance against Root-knot nematode by modulating photosynthesis and innate responsive genes

“…Moreover, negative impact of synthetic pesticides and chemicals inputs on human and environment restrict their application globally (Nicolopoulou-Stamati et al, 2016). However, some approaches exhibited to cope plants against RKN parasitism such as cover crops (Navarrete et al, 2016), grafting (Liu et al, 2015, Salem et al, 2019b), application of organic amendments (Abdel-Dayem et al, 2012, Abdeldaym et al, 2014) and plant extracts (Javed et al, 2007) as well as bio-control (Daneshkhah et al, 2013; Atia et al, 2016). All these strategies either alone or combined together are considered the most sustainable methods for controlling plant root knot nematode (Escobar et al, 2010, Escobar et al, 2015).…”

Cucumis metuliferus reduces Meloidogyne incognita virulence against the Mi1.2 resistance gene in a tomato–melon rotation sequence

“…Similarly, transplanting plants primed by microorganisms which express faster and stronger resistance against RKN could reduce virulence selection. In addition, the inclusion of other practices in the rotation sequence, before the selection of virulent populations, such as the use of resistant plants or other plant species as a trap cover crop, soil solarization or biofumigation, could also avoid virulence selection due to the reduced level of nematode infestation of the soil.…”

Composted Municipal Green Waste Infused with Biocontrol Agents to Control Plant Parasitic Nematodes—A Review

“…[ [45][46][47] 1.3. New, Alternative Directions Different organisms including fungi, bacteria viruses, predatory nematodes, insects, mites and some invertebrates have been reported to parasitise or prey on nematodes [48].…”