Magnetic field exposure affects plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne spp. motion behavior

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes are costly burdens of crop production. Ubiquitous in nature, phytoparasitic nematodes are associated with nearly every important agricultural crop and represent a significant constraint on global food security. This study aimed to determine the effect of magnetic field exposure on plant-parasitic nematodes, namely Meloidogyne sp. This research was carried out in October 2019 in the laboratory of agriculture, University of Jember. The study used a completely randomized design using four treatments, namely exposure to the N polar magnetic field, S polar magnetic field, toroidal magnetic field (N to S), and reverse toroidal magnetic field (S to N) with a magnetic strength of 1,5 Mt and the number of nematodes was 50 J2 per treatment. The results showed that the magnetic field affects the nematode’s motion, which is increasingly greening the magnetic field within 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and 120 seconds. Nematodes experience the most rapid movement and move further away from the magnetic field within 60 seconds and 120 seconds in the treatment of reverse toroidal magnetic field exposure (S to N) equal to 13 mm and 24.5 mm. Hereby, this study provides new information about changes in nematode motion to exposure to magnetic fields.