Relationship between plant density and population density of Meloidogyne incognita on eggplant

The effect of different densities of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) on the reproduction and population density of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita was studied under screen house conditions. It was found that there is a positive correlation between eggplant density and population density of root-knot nematode, M. incognita in roots i.e., when number of plants in the same pot increased (1-4 plants/pot), a higher number of nematode juveniles in plant roots occurred. Thus, plant density, such as 4 plants if produced it promoted the number of the hatched juveniles, galls and egg-masses in roots as compared to the plant densities of 1, 2 and 3/pot. However, number of juveniles in soil decreased with increasing plant density.