Effect of Intercropping of Nematotoxic Plants on Root- Knot Nematode, Meloidogne incognita Infecting some Vegetable Plants in the Screenhouse

Abstract

Plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) especially root-knot nematodes cause significant economic damage and considered as a limiting factor in some vegetables production all over the world. Due to the harmful effect of synthetic nematicides on human health, non-target organisms as well as on environment and agricultural ecosystem, we need to use alternative management practices that are effective, cheap, safe, economically acceptable, and environmentally friendly. Intercropping nematicidal plants may be represented as an alternative efficient practice. Our research was aimed to investigate the suppressive effect of Crotalaria juncea, Tagetes erecta, and Brassica juncea intercropping with tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), and pepper (Capsicum annum L.), on Meloidogyne incognita and their effect on the host plant growth. In the screenhouse, the experiment was conducted using 1000 IJs/pot, after 2 months the data were recorded. The highly effective intercropping plant was Crotalaria followed by Tagetes and Brassica in suppressing the nematode galls, egg masses, final population, and rate of reproduction significantly as follow: 153.7, 160.3, 570.0, 0.57 in tomato, and 205.7,158.3, 692.3, 0.69 in cucumber and 197.0, 189.7, 746.3, 0.75 in pepper, respectively. Moreover, plant growth parameters were enhanced in the three host plants and so, such intercropping system could be of a considerable merit in integrated pest management programs.

Nematicidal plants for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) management in vegetable cropping systems

“…Implementation strategy has been demonstrated to be key. Intercropping Tagetes species or growing them before the crop has been shown to suppress nematodes in tomato, cucumber, and pepper (Ploeg 1999(Ploeg , 2002Taha 2020;Tesleem et al 2014). Poor host plants can also be used the same way as non-host plants: sorghum, for instance, could be effectively used as a rotation crop or green manure where their biomass is incorporated into the soil as has been successfully shown in the South of France where sorghum is the most widely used green manure in vegetable production (Djian-Caporalino et al 2019).…”