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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #298043
Title: Effects of cover crops with potential for use in anaerobic soil disinfestation (asd) on reproduction of meloidogyne spp.

Author
item Burelle, Nancy
item BUTLER, D - University Of Tennessee
item Rosskopf, Erin

Submitted to: International Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reductions
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2013
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Cover crops were assessed for their susceptibility to invasion and galling by three species of root-knot nematode. Crops were selected based on their potential for use as the organic amendment component in anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD). Root-knot nematode juvenile numbers in soil and roots, egg production, and galling were evaluated in greenhouse trials for arugula, cowpea, jack bean, two commercial mixtures of Indian mustard and white mustard, pearl millet, sorghum-sudangrass, and three cultivars of sunflower. The susceptible control for all species of root-knot nematodes tested was tomato. Arugula, cowpea, and sorghum-sudangrass consistently had low numbers of all species of Meloidogyne associated with roots, and are good selections for use in ASD, with potential for reducing populations of root-knot nematodes. The remainder of crops tested had significant levels of galling, nematode juveniles, and nematode eggs associated with roots, which varied among the nematode species.

Technical Abstract: Several cover crops were assessed for their susceptibility to invasion and galling by three species of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne arenaria, M. incognita, and M. javanica. Crops were selected based on their potential for use as the organic amendment component in anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) applications. Root-knot nematode juvenile numbers in soil and roots, egg production, and galling were evaluated. Cover crops were arugula (Eruca sativa, cv. Nemat), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata, cv. Iron & Clay), jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis, cv. Comum), two commercial mixtures of Indian mustard and white mustard (Brassica juncea & Sinapsis alba, cvs. Caliente 61 and Caliente 99), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum, cv. Tifleaf III hybrid), sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (Sorghum bicolor × S. bicolor var. sudanense, cv. Sugar Grazer II), and three cultivars of sunflower (Helianthus annuus, cvs. 545A, Nusun 660CL, and Nusun 5672). The susceptible control for all three species of root-knot nematodes tested was tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, cv. Rutgers). Arugula, cowpea, and sorghum-sudangrass consistently had low numbers of all three species of Meloidogyne associated with roots, and are good selections for use in ASD as organic amendments, with the most potential for reducing populations of root-knot nematodes. The remainder of crops tested had significant levels of galling, nematode juveniles, and nematode eggs associated with roots, which varied among the Meloidogyne species tested.