158-161A field
experiment was conducted for the management of Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato
with five botanicals, viz. leaves of Calotropis gigantea (Linn.) R. Br. ex Ait. , Tagetes erecta Linn. and
Azadirachta indica A. Juss. ; seeds of Citrullus lanatus ( Thunb.) Matsumura & Nakai and Areca catechu Linn. Results showed statistically
significant increase in both seed germination as well as seedling establishment
in all the treatments when compared with control. Seed treatment with dry powder
of C. gigantea leaves gave the highest germination
(98.0%) and high percentage of established seedlings (99.6%). Root dip treatment
with leaf extract of C. gigantea resulted in significant reduction of
the soil nematode population at 45 days after transplanting and at harvest
(87.3% and 90.0%, respectively) and lowest
gall index (1.7) with increase in fruit yield, 23.9%