Botanical nematicides in the mediterranean basin

Abstract

Achieving food sufficiency in a sustainable manner is a major challenge for farmers, agro-industries, researchers and governments. Amongst agricultural pests supressing crops, root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) represent possibly the world's most damaging one, the control of which has been mainly based on chemical nematicides. In the recent years the environmental, food safety and animal welfare issues pose the need for alternative nematode control measures. Screening naturally occurring compounds in plants, involved in the complex chemical-mediated interactions between a plant and other organisms in its environment, can provide with innovative nematode control measures that can be safely used in integrated pest management programs. The Mediterranean Basin is an area where various soils and climatic conditions allow a vast plant biodiversity providing with chemical botanicals of significant nematicidal potency. This is a review on the Mediterranean botanicals that can control Meloidogyne spp

Nematicidal activity of furanocoumarins from parsley againstMeloidogynespp.

“…Botanical nematicides have attracted considerable interest in recent years . Single nematicidal compounds could be used directly after purification of botanical extracts or can serve as prototypes in the chemical synthesis of nematicidal formulates, whereas the nematicidal botanical extracts could be produced and applied directly by the farmer on the field as an ecofriendly, cost‐effective nematode control method.…”

Nematicidal activity of acetophenones and chalcones against Meloidogyne incognita and structure–activity considerations

“…(marigolds) are often effective in the management of both root‐knot nematodes and related soil diseases because of their biofumigation potential, i.e. their release of volatile toxic secondary metabolites or degradation products …”

Control of root‐knot nematodes using Waltheria indica producing 4‐quinolone alkaloids

“…As a promising alternative to chemical nematicides, research on the botanical nematicide is receiving increasing attention . The current study found that crude extract of W. indica roots has strong nematocidal activity against J2 of M. incognita.…”