Meloidogyne
incognita
is an important
plant-parasitic nematode that causes significant crop losses all over
the world. The primary control strategy for this pathogen is still
based on nematicides, which are hazardous to human health and the
environment. Considering these problems, this study aimed to determine
the efficacy of different concentrations (25, 50, and 100 ppm) of
silver nanoparticles against
M. incognita
on
Trachyspermum ammi
. Silver nanoparticles
synthesized from
Senna siamea
were
thoroughly characterized using various physicochemical techniques,
viz., UV–visible spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive
X-ray analyzer (EDX). Results revealed that plants treated with 50
ppm silver nanoparticles one week before
M. incognita
inoculation (T
2
) exhibited maximum and significant (
p
≤ 0.05) increases in plant growth, biochemical
characteristics, and activities of defense enzymes such as peroxidase,
catalase, superoxide dismutase, and ascorbate peroxidase over the
inoculated control (IC) plants. Furthermore, the maximum reduction
in the number of galls, egg masses, and root-knot indices was recorded
in plants treated with 100 ppm silver nanoparticles (T
3
) followed by plants treated with 50 ppm silver nanoparticles before
nematode inoculation (T
2
), over inoculated plants (IC).
Anatomical studies showed accumulation of lignin in the transverse
section (TS) of roots treated with 50 ppm silver nanoparticles. As
a result, the present finding strongly suggests that silver nanoparticles
synthesized from
S. siamea
had nematicidal
activity, and it could be an efficient, safe, cost-effective, and
affordable alternative to chemical nematicide.