Use of Avermectins for the Control of Meloidogyne incognita on tomatoes

The efficacy of avermectins B₁ and B₂ for control of Meloidogyne incognita on tomato was studied in pots and field plots for two seasons. Avermectins were applied as granules and liquid in furrows or by low pressure drip irrigation systems, at rates ranging from 0.093 to 0.34 kg a.i./ha, as single or multiple applications. Levels of control comparable to those obtained by oxamyl and aldicarb at 3.36 kg a.i./ha were achieved by the avermectin with only 1/10 the volume of chemicals applied to the environment. Avermectin protection of the roots remained constant throughout the first 5 weeks giving slightly longer protection than oxamyl or aldicarb.     

Population Dynamics of Meloidogyne incognita and Rotylenchulus reniformis Alone and in Combination,and Their Effects on Sweet Potato

Meloidogyne incognita (Mi) and Rotylenchulus reniformis (Rr) interactions on sweet potato were studied in naturally and artificially infested field plots for 3 years. In a naturally infested field, early season counts of Mi or Rr were positively correlated with later counts of the same nematode, but negative correlations were found between early Mi and subsequent Rr, and early Rr and subsequent Mi counts. In field plots fumigated with methyl bromide and then infested with low levels of Rr, Mi, and Rr + Mi, final population densities of Mi juveniles were reduced by Rr, but Rr was not affected by Mi. In field plots with a high natural population density of Rr, artificial infestation with high levels of Mi in both fumigated and nonfumigated treatments inhibited Rr, while the final Mi juvenile population density was not affected. Results indicate that a competitive interaction exists with each species capable of inhibiting the other and becoming the dominant population. The nematodes had no apparent effect on yield at the inoculum densities used, either alone or mixed. Both nematodes increased cracking of sweet potatoes, but mixed populations did not differ in incidence of cracking from either Rr or Mi alone.     

Interactions Between Calonectria crotalariae and Heterodera glycines on Soybean

The interactions of Heterodera glycines at four egg inoculum levels (0, 100, 1,000, and 10,000 per pot) and three cyst levels (0, 100, and 200 per pot) and Calonectria crotalariae at 500, 5,000, and 50,000 microsclerotia per pot were evaluated on soybean. At the two lowest nematode egg levels, the presence of C. crotalariae did not affect nematode reproduction. At 10,000 eggs per pot, however, nematode reproduction was increased significantly at each microsclerotial level. The increase in nematode reproduction was stepwise at 500 and 5,000 microsclerotia per pot but declined at 50,000 microsclerotia per pot. Similar results were obtained when cysts rather than eggs were used as nematode inoculum. The nematode x fungus interaction significantly affected 60-day plant growth parameters of both Lee 74 and Centennial soybean. The nematode x fungus interaction was antagonistic to plant roots and significantly influenced root injury ratings. The presence of C. crotalariae in tissues of stock plants or plants used as race differentials did not alter the analysis of this population as race 3.     

Molecular Diagnosis of Meloidogyne Species

Genetic variation within nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of Meloidogyne species and host races has been evaluated for the development of root-knot nematode molecular diagnostics. This review summarizes the distinctive features of several useful DNA-based assays for plant-parasitic nematodes, focusing upon the direct application of these procedures for Meloidogyne detection, identification, and systematics.     

Development of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus Populations in Wood Chips with Different Moisture Contents

Bags of Pinus strobus wood chips with moisture contents of 38, 92, 164, and 217% (oven dry weight) were inoculated with Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and incubated at 30 C in order to determine the effect of wood moisture on nematode population development. Nematodes were extracted after 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Population levels were greatest in wood chips with a moisture content of 38% and decreased successively with each higher moisture content. In chips with the three lower moisture contents, populations peaked at 2 weeks, but at 217% moisture, they peaked at 8 weeks. By 12 weeks, nematode populations had declined in wood chips with 92 and 164% moisture contents. The fungi most frequently isolated from the wood chips were Alternaria, Fusarium, Gliocladium, Graphium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, and Mucorales.     

Influence of Temperature and Soybean Phenology on Dormancy Induction of Heterodera glycines

Growth room and field experiments were conducted to determine the influence of soil temperature and soybean phenology on dormancy induction of a North Carolina population of Heterodera glycines race 1. Three temperature regimes and two photoperiods to regulate plant phenology were investigated in growth rooms. H. glycines hatch was greatest from the 26 and 22 C (day and night) temperature treatment, intermediate at 22 and 18 C, and least from the decreasing regime (26 and 22 C, 22 and 18 C, and 18 and 14 C). More eggs hatched and greater nematode reproduction occurred on pod-producing soybeans than on those that remained vegetative. In the field study, hatching patterns were not different between depodded and naturally senescing soybeans nor between the different maturity groups of soybean cultivars (groups V through VIII). Egg hatch (9-16%) was greatest in August and September when mean soil temperatures were between 25 and 29 C. Hatch declined to 1% in vitro and was not detectable in the bioassay in November. Greatest nematode numbers were observed on the latest maturing cultivar (group VIII) and fewest on the cultivar which matured earliest (group V). Decreasing temperature appears to be more important than soybean phenology in dormancy induction of H. glycines.     

Control of Globodera tabacum solanacearum by Alternating Host Resistance and Nematicide

The feasibility of alternating use of resistant vs. susceptible flue-cured tobacco cultivars to improve control of Globodera tabacum subsp, solanacearum (TCN) was investigated at two Virginia locations in 1984-86. Post-harvest TCN population densities were reduced in each year of the study when fenamiphos was used with a TCN-resistant cultivar (NC 567), relative to susceptible cultivars (K 326 or Mc 944). Using NC 567 with fenamipbos also reduced preplant TCN population densities in the next growing season. Egg population densities before planting in 1986 were significantly lower in plots planted with NC 567 in 1984, even when a susceptible cultivar had been planted in 1985. Use of fenamiphos with NC 567 in 1984 and 1985 further reduced preplant egg population densities in 1986. Economic returns were significantly greater in 1984 when NC 567 was used with fenamiphos, rather than a susceptible cultivar. Treatments involving fenamiphos and (or) NC 567 in 1984 and 1985 resulted in higher economic returns in 1986 than did treatments using a susceptible cultivar without fenamiphos in both previous years. Economic returns were highest in 1986 when fenamiphos and NC 567 were used in 1984 and 1985 and a susceptible cultivar was planted in 1986.     

Preferred Temperature of Meloidogyne incognita

In laboratory thermal gradients, newly hatched infective juveniles of the plant-parasitic root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita migrated toward a preferred temperature that was several degrees above the temperature to which they were acclimated. After shifting egg masses to a new temperature, the preferred temperature was reset in less than a day. Possible functions of this type of thermotaxis are discussed, including the use of thermal gradients around plant roots to locate hosts and to maintain a relatively straight path while ranging in the absence of other cues (a collimating stimulus).     

Impact of Paecilomyces lilacinus Inoculum Level and Application Time on Control of Meloidogyne incognita on Tomato

Microplot experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of inoculum level and time of application of Paecilomyces lilacinus on the protection of tomato against MeIoidogyne incognita. The best protection against M. incognita was attained with 10 and 20 g of fungus-infested wheat kernels per microplot which resulted in a threefold and fourfold increase in tomato yield, respectively, compared with tomato plants treated with this nematode alone. Greatest protection against this pathogen was attained when P. lilacinus was delivered into soil 10 days before planting and again at planting. Yield was increased twofold compared with yield in nematode-alone plots and plots with M. incognita plus the fungus. Percentages of P. lilacinus-infected egg masses were greatest in plots treated at midseason or at midseason plus an early application, compared with plots treated with the fungus 10 days before planting and (or) at planting time.     

Screening Subterranean Clover (Trifolium spp.) Germplasm for Resistance to Meloidogyne species

This study was conducted to identify lines of subterranean clover (Trifolium spp.) with resistance to Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal, 1989) Chitwood, 1949, race 1; M. incognita (Kofoid and White, 1919) Chitwood, 1949, race 3; and M. javanica (Treub, 1885) Chitwood, 1949. A collection of 134 subterranean clover lines was evaluated and all had intermediate to high susceptibility. Root galling was negatively correlated with both seed and dry matter yields. Soil fumigation significantly reduced the nematode population in the field. Results indicate there is limited genetic resistance to root-knot nematodes among subterranean clover lines. Alternative sources of variation for this trait should be investigated.