Nematicidal Effects of Various Fractions of Curcuma longa against Meloidogyne incognita (root knot nematodes)

Abstract

Parasitism is an important limiting factor responsible to cause damage to agricultural production. Plant parasitic root knot nematodes attack several economic crops in Pakistan. Plant- parasitic nematodes considerably add huge losses to economies in the top tomatoes crop producing countries throughout the world, instead of controlling the main pathogenic nematode species as usual; one of the innovative strategies to control plant-parasitic nematodes would be to manage diversity in communities in order to lead them to be less pathogenic. The plants and their materials are one of the potential remedies for nematodes management. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) along with its several biological applications may serve as a biopesticide against Meloidogyne incognita, a nematode species. A bioassay guided isolation of various fractions of turmeric was subjected to nematicidal activity in comparison with Azadirachta indica against Meloidogyne incognita larvae at the concentration of 0.25, 0.5, and 1% for 48 hours. Alongside, Larvae and eggs of nematodes were inoculated around the tomato seedlings in experiments with turmeric in a growth chamber. The control contains water instead of turmeric. Root gall severity and final nematode population were suppressed significantly. It was observed that the use of turmeric is very important for selected plant parasitic nematodes management.