<b>Management of root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita on tomato with botanicals</b>

Abstract

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%