Management of the root-knot nematode, meloidogyne javanicam on cucumber [cucumis sativus] with biological control agent

ABSTRACT

Two biological control agents, Nemaless [a commercial suspension of the bacterium Serratia marcescens; 1 x 10 [9] bacterial cells/ml] and Nemastop plus [a commercial suspension presumably of garlic, allium sativum, extract and the fungus Paeciiomyces lilacinus], were tried to determine their effects on cucumber growth parameters and Meloidogyne javanica development and reproduction. Both have significantly [P population on cucumber cv. Royal sluis. The hatching percentages of M.javanica eggs were significantly [P soil compared to the control [nematode only]. Nemastop plus was more effective in reducing the nematode population levels than Nemaless. Yet, the two compounds together did not show a synergistic effect on M. javanica final population density but rather showed decrease in the efficacy. The beneficial effects of such biocontrol agents were mirrored by better shoot growth of cucumber cv. Royal sluis in the treated pots