Influence of Six Vegetable Cultivars on Reproduction of Meloidogyne javanica

Abstract

Replicated field and greenhouse experiments were used to evaluate the effect of tomato, cabbage, cucumber, carrot, Amaranthus hybridus, and pepper on growth and fecundity of Meloidogyne spp., particularly M. javanica. In the field tests, tomato, cucumber, and carrot favored population increases of Meloidogyne spp., while Amaranthus, pepper, and cabbage limited them. Some cropping sequences that included crops from the latter group had a suppressive effect on population growth. Thus, of the 36 cropping sequences that were investigated, the following kept the pests in check: tomato-pepper; tomato-Amaranthus; cabbage-pepper; Amaranthus-pepper; carrot-cabbage; pepper-pepper; pepper-Amaranthus; and Amaranthus-pepper. In the greenhouse tests, tomato, cucumber, and carrot had a high number of galls per 50 cm of root, large, conspicuous galls and egg masses, and a high number of larvae per egg mass. Thus, they were highly susceptible. Cabbage and Amaranthus were unsuitable hosts as reflected in the absence of galls or a low number per 50 cm of root. small size of galls and egg masses, and few progeny on the subsequent crop of pepper. The length of time required for eggs to hatch on different hosts varied considerably and is thought to be a significant factor in infection of hosts.

Keywords: pest management; rotations.