Management of Tomato Parasitic Nematode through Organic Nematicides in Peshawar, Pakistan

The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is parasitic to the plants and greatly damages the root of many vegetables. The current in-Planta study was designed to explore the nematicidal properties of several botanicals (neem oil, garlic oil, castor oil, extracts of Tagetes patula and Datura inoxia at a standard dose of 2.0%) at District Peshawar, Pakistan. Tomato (cv. Riogrande) was grown in earthen pots for the growing seasons of 2014 to 2016. Pure culture of the root-knot nematodes were grown in laboratory and were applied at the rate of 50 infective juvenile and 200 eggs per root system through soil drench method. Neem oil and Datura inoxia gave the best results by having lower number (2.8 and 5.8, respectively) of galls. Adult females and egg masses were also reduced to 0.9 and 4.8, respectively, per root system. All the treatments differences were statistically significant (P≤ 0.05). Plant growth parameters were also upraised with application of medicinal herbs. This study highlights the nematicidal properties of botanicals for the safe and cheap management of the prevalent root knot nematode. Hence, it is recommended to the farmers for the use of these naturally occurring organic nematicides instead of commercial petro-chemicals that have ill effect on our environment.