Effect of intercropping on the nematode population and yield of peach (Prunus persica Batsch.)

摘要

Peaches (Prunus persica L.) occupy an important position in Himachal Pradesh. These fruit trees are highly prone to decline and replant problems, where nematodes are abundant (Sharma and Sharma, 7). While surveying the peach orchards in Himachal Pradesh, various plant parasitic nematode species of economic importance (Paratylenchus, Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Xiphinema, Meloidogyne and Macroposthonia) have been reported in their rhizosphere, with a population level of Paratylenchus prunii up to the tune of 32,000 per 200 cc soil (Sharma and Sharma, 5). Whereas, studies on the pathogenicity, biology and control of many of these nematodes on the crop have been worked out (Sharma 3; Sharma and Sharma 6), however work on the nematode management through cultural means is negligible so far.