Soil amendment with chopped or ground dry leaves of six species of plants for the control of Meloidogyne javanica in tomato under greenhouse conditions

摘要

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of soil amendment with chopped (1cm2) or ground (1mm sieve) dry leaves of assa-peixe (Vernonia polyanthes), lemon-grass (Cymbopogon citratus), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora), castor (Ricinus communis), mango (Mangifera indica) or neem (Azadirachta indica) for the control Meloidogyne javanica. Into the soil (Yellow red oxisol) of each pot were added leaves (5g kg-1 of soil) and 5,000 eggs of the nematode. After seven days, one tomato seedling "Santa Cruz Kada" was transplanted to each pot. The tomato root weight, galls and eggs/root system were determined 60 days after transplant. None of the soil amendments reduced gall or eggs, when applied as leaf pieces. However, all tested plant species reduced the gall number, when they were incorporated into the soil as powder, and maximum nematode suppression occurred in soil amended with neem leaves (61%). The amendment with ground leaves of castor, neem, eucalyptus and lemon-grass reduced the number of eggs, with maximum reduction occurring in soil amended with ground castor leaves (69%), evidencing that these organic amendments can be an alternative for M. javanica control in tomato. Further studies are required under field conditions to confirm the potential of these organic amendments on the control of M. javanica.