Root Knot Nematodes

- Polyphagous Pest
 Introduction
 Root knot nematodes (genus: Meloidogyne, Greek word means melon,
apple or gourd shaped female) are sedentary endoparasites of diverse
crops.
 Root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are one of the most important
polyphagous pests in agriculture.
 Among the top five plant pathogens affecting world’s food production,
root knot nematodes are one of the most devastating pathogen of crops.
 They are adapted to parasitize on large number of plants and over 3000
wild and cultivated plant species are reported to be affected.
 They are distributed worldwide over a wide range of geographical
conditions of tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world.
 Several weed species (226 species belonging to 43 families) are known
to act as hosts of root knot nematodes worldwide.
 Meloidogyne species
The species list of Meloidogyne known so far from India is given below:
1. M. incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood, 1949
2. M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood, 1949
3. M. arenaria (Neal, 1889) Chitwood, 1949
4. M. hapla Chitwood, 1949
5. M. africana Whitehead, 1968
6. M. brevicauda Loos, 1963
7. M. thamesi Chitwood in Chitwood, Specht and Havis, 1952 (Goodey, 1963)
8. M. exigua Goeldi, 1887
9. M. graminicola Golden & Birchfield, 1968
10. *M. indica Whitehead, 1968
11. M. graminis (Sledge & Golden) Whitehead, 1968
12. *M. lucknowica Singh, 1969
13. *M. triticoryzae Gaur, Saha & Khan, 1993
14. *M. piperi Sahoo, Ganguly & Eapen, 2000

(*) four have been described for the first time

 Distribution
Root knot nematodes are distributed worldwide; more prevalent in
tropical and sub-tropical climatic zones where summer is longer
than the winter.

Host range
Most preferred hosts of root knot nematodes are vegetables, pulses,
fibre crops, fruits, ornamentals, medicinal and aromatic plants and
other important cash and plantation crops.
 Symptoms of damage
 The above-ground parts of the diseased plants exhibit symptoms typical of mineral deficiency or
drought injury due to the slow debility of affected roots to function properly for nutrient, water
uptake and translocation even when adequate fertilizers and moisture are present in the fields.
 The other symptoms may include dieback, yellowing, wilting and premature shedding of the foliage
with severe stunting, depending upon the initial nematode population in the field.
 Chlorosis of the foliage lowers the quality of the crop resulting in severe losses.
 Poor emergence and death of young seedlings may occur in heavily infested soil but death of grown
up plants is rarely seen unless some other co-inhabiting pathogenic fungi or bacteria is involved in
the development of disease complex.
 The below-ground symptoms include galls or knots on the roots or tubers of numerous crops.
 These galls vary in size from pin-head to large size which in case of heavy infection may coalesce
to form large secondary galls.
 Typical symptom of root knot nematode infestation produce ‘thick-root’ appearance; forking of
 tap roots as in carrot or beet and pimple-like tubercles on tubers in potato. Infestation of root knot
nematodes may cause temporary wilting of plants and heavy infestation of the nematode is
attributed to wilt disease in betelvine
 Biology
 During the complex life cycle of the root-knot nematodes, the morphology changes from a one-
celled zygote to a small, vermiform, first-stage juvenile, which moults once in the egg to become
the infective J2, the stage that subsequently hatches from the egg.
 The infective juveniles may move freely out from the egg mass into the surrounding soil and
search for the root tip of a suitable host plant or, in the case of second and further generations of an
established infection, may migrate entirely within the root tissue before establishing a new feeding
site.
 The root cortex is penetrated near the zone of differentiation, the J2 migrating predominantly
intercellularly toward the root tip and then making a 180° turn back towards the zone of
differentiation.
 Once inside the vascular cylinder the J2 initiate a series of three to eight giant cells, where they
feed for 3–8 weeks and greatly increase in size by swelling into a sausage-shaped juvenile with a
characteristically spicate tail region.
 The swollen J2 rapidly moult into short-lived third- and fourth-stage juveniles.
 Fourth-stage juveniles that will develop into males become vermiform after the third moult, but
juveniles destined to become females remain swollen.
 Both types of fourth-stage juveniles moult once more to become either a mature male or a female.
 Management measures
Cultural methods
Crop rotations and Cropping sequences:
 Adoption of crop rotation is one of the effective
approaches for nematode management particularly in
annual crops.
 Root knot nematodes usually survive in the soil either in
the form of eggs or second stage juveniles.
 In the absence of a host plant, the populations of root knot
nematode juveniles have been observed to decline by 75%
in a period of 3-4 months due to starvation, desiccation,
heat etc., if weeds or other hosts are not available.
 Deep summer ploughing of root knot infested fields during the month of May-
June particularly in north-West India is followed to expose the nematodes in
soil and infected tissue to solar heat and dehydration; this practice has been
found to be effective for management of root-knot nematodes.
 The efficiency of summer ploughing is further improved by solarisation to
harness the benefits of solar energy which helps in trapping and retaining more
heat under polythene mulching than the direct exposure alone.

Phytotherapy and use of organic amendments: Plant parts, their products,

extracts and certain other effective amendments have also been reported to
possess nematicidal properties. Use of such materials has an advantage over
other methods due to their easy availability, low cost, being pollution free and
their capacity to improve soil health. Leaf extracts of number of plants viz.
Allium sativum, Calotropis procera, Datura stramonium, Ricinus communis,
Xanthium strumarium, Mentha viridis, Cassia fistula etc. are nematicidal.
Geronoil, citrol and citronellol isolated from essential oils of Cymbopogon
grasses were found as active nematicides
Trap and Antagonistic crops:
 The use of trap crop is a method whereby a highly susceptible
crop is grown in the root knot nematode infested fields and
allowed to grow over a time period so as to trap the penetrating
juveniles of root knot nematodes in the roots.
 Later the crop is ploughed up or destroyed prior to the
development of the penetrating juveniles to attain adult stage.
 Further, plants that release certain root exudates in the rhizosphere
having nematicidal values, when inter-cropped with the
susceptible crop or grown as cover crop such as african marigold,
mustard, sesame and asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) can also
help in reducing the population of root knot nematodes.
Time of Planting:
 Nematode population build-up is very much dependent on
the season and cropping sequences.
 Adjusting the time of planting or sowing in areas having
drastic seasonal variations in temperature, can help in
minimising the buildup of nematode populations.
 In the northern plain zones of India, there exist wide
variations in temperature.
 The minimum temperature during winter months go below
10 0C (rabi) and maximum may go above 40 0C during
summer months.
 Hence, the incidence of root knot nematodes is high during
kharif season in comparison to rabi season.
Host Plant Resistance

Table.1 Crop varieties identified/developed resistant to plant parasitic nematodes

Biological Control

Fungi
Predacious fungi: Predacious fungi are basically nematode trappers, belonging to Zygomycetes and Deuteromycetes
group. More than 100 species of fungi are reported to be predacious. Fungi like Monacrosporium ionopagum forms
sticky branches, Arthrobotrys oligospora forms sticky network. Dactylella ellipsospora forms sticky knobs,
Dactylaria candida forms non-constricting rings, Dactylaria brachopaga, D. bembicodes, Arthrobotrys dactyloides
form constricting rings, and Stylopaga grandis forms sticky mycelium and catch the nematodes moving beside them.

Endozoic fungi: More than 50 species of endozoic fungi belonging to diverse group like Blastoaladiales,
Chytridiales, Entomophthorales, Zoopagales, Moniliales, imperfect ascomycetes, imperfect basidiomycetes have
been recovered from nematodes. Most of the fungi require a nematode host to complete their life cycle, thereby
controlling nematodes.

Egg parasite or opportunistic fungi: A considerable range of fungi have been reported to colonize the eggs of cyst
and root knot nematodes. Rhopalomyces elegans is considered to be the first discovery of a confirmed egg parasite.
The egg and female parasitic (also grouped as opportunistic fungi) fungi are promising groups for control of various
nematodes. Most promising ones are Paecilomyces lilacinus, Pochonia (=Verticillium) chlamydosporia, Dactylella
oviparasitica, Nematophthora gynophila and Cladosporium oxysporum.
Bacteria
 Among the various bacteria, Pasteuria sp. is widely and effectively used for biocontrol of nematodes. P. penetrans
is an obligate, ubiquitous soil bacterium.
 Beta-exotoxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis killed 95% juveniles of Meloidogyne spp.
 Various plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (Pseudomonas fluorescens) and other rhizospheric bacteria
(viz. Azotobacter chroococcum and Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus) have been investigated for their
antagonistic effects causing decreased nematode infestation in soil ecosystem.

Chemical control
The chemicals used in early trials to control root knot nematodes included the halogenated hydrocarbon fumigants
like DD, EDB etc. Methyl bromide (MBr) was used for soil sterilization for experimental purposes to control root
knot nematodes. Another class of soil fumigants relating to methyl isothiocyanates (MIT) was introduced in early
1950s. Among MIT fumigants, dazomet and metham sodium were introduced.
Root knot nematodes can also be disinfected by bare-root dip treatment with systemic pesticides. Dimethoate @ 500
ppm for six hours, phosphamidon and dichlofenthion each @ 1,000 ppm for eight hours were found effective for
suppressing M. javanica in tomato. Aldicarb or carbofuran @ 100 and 1000 ppm were highly toxic to M. incognita
and inhibited larval hatching when applied to infested tomato seedlings.
Integrated Management

The concept of integrated nematode was proposed as early as 1933 by Tyler. The combination of two or more control
strategies into an overall management programme is the only sound sustainable approach to control root knot
nematodes effectively.
INM has been defined as a system approach to reduce nematode populations below economic threshold level (ETL)
through integration of various techniques such as biocontrol agents, genetically resistant cultivars, modifications of
natural environment or cultural practices, judicious use of nematicides in a cost effective manner etc.
Implementation of INM programme is based on the principles of nematode exclusion, population modifications and
tolerance.
The aim of INM is
i) to utilise several compatible control techniques in combination,
ii) to maximize natural environmental resistance to plant parasitic nematodes,
iii) to apply specific and drastic control measures only as and when necessary and
iv) to maximise profit of the grower with location and resource specific recommendations. The requirements for
integrated nematode management are the research, development, transfer of technology for implementation of
combining different nematode management options in most effective manner.
Hence, the components of INM system includes
(a) biological and environmental monitoring
(b) agricultural production system,
(c) pest crop ecosystem models and system design and implementation.
The following management technologies have been developed and recommended which can be used against root knot
nematodes infecting various crops.
Vegetable Crops
• Deep summer ploughing of nematode infested fields 2-3 times at an interval of 10-15 days during the hot summer
months of May and June helped in reducing the population of root-knot nematodes in the soil.
• Use of non-host crops like mustard, garlic, onion and cereals at least for 2-3 years in a suitable cropping system helped in
controlling the nematodes.
• Use of tomato resistant varieties like Hisar Lalit, Punjab NR-7 and SL-12 etc. may be used in nematode infested areas.
• Use nematode-free transplants and raise the nursery (tomato, brinjal, chilli) in root-knot nematode-free soil.
• Nursery bed treatment with carbofuran @ 0.3 g a.i./m2 + bare root dip treatment with carbosulfan @ 500 ppm at
transplanting.
• Seedlings may be raised in solarized nursery beds treated with carbofuran @ 0.3 g a.i./m2 + neem cake @ 500 kg/ha
before transplanting in the field.
• In the directly seeded crops like okra and cucurbits, seed dressing with carbosulfan @ 3% a.i. (w/w) + deep summer
ploughing of the infested field is now recommended.
Rice
• Rice genotypes viz., ARC-13516, INRC-8867 and INRC-8843 were found resistant to M. graminicola.
• Nursery bed treatment with carbofuran @ 0.3 g a.i./m2 and field application of carbofuran @ 1 kg. a.i./ha after 40-45
days of transplanting helped in checking the disease.
• Soaking of rice seeds in 0.1% solution of carbosulfan or monocrotophos for 12 hours reduced the egg mass production of
M. graminicola.
Pulse Crops
• Use of organic amendments including neem and castor cakes @ 1 t/ha ten days before sowing in infested fields and
their combinations with seed treatment with carbosulfan @3% a.i.(w/w) has been found to reduce root knot nematode
damage in pulses.
• Among various bio-agents, seed treatment with P. fluorescens + Trichoderma viride each @ 5 g/kg seed was found
most effective for the management of reniform nematode, R. reniformis infecting cowpea.
• Seed dressing with carbosulfan @ 3% a.i. w/w has been found quite effective.
Groundnut
• Use of organic amendments, neem or castor cakes @ 1 t/ha seven days prior to sowing has been found to reduce
root-knot nematode damage in groundnut. Their combinations with seed treatment with carbosulfan 25 DS @ 3%
a.i. (w/w) further improved efficacy in reducing the nematode population and enhancing the yield significantly.
• Farmers of south Saurashtra region are advised to sow groundnut with castor as inter crop (row ratio 2:1) along with
soil application of carbofuran @ 1.0 kg a.i.\ha to reduce the population of root knot nematodes infecting groundnut.
Grapevine
• Soil application of carbofuran @ 7 g/m2 at the time of flowering + growing of garlic (Allium sativum) as inter-crop.
• Application of carbofuran @ 13 g/m2 around grapevine plants just before flowering.
• Application of Pseudomonas fluorescens @ 20 g/m2 or Trichoderma viride @ 20 g/m2 as flowering has been found
to be effective.
Banana
• Paring + hot water treatment of sucker at 55°C for 20 minutes + carbofuran application @ 16.6 g/plant +
neem cake @ 1 kg/plant applied in the pit before planting has been found effective.
Pomegranate
• Deep summer ploughing of nursery/main field before establishing/transplanting of seedlings.
• Crop rotation in the main field before transplanting.
• Use solarized soil for filling the polythene bags or solarization of nursery soil for 2-3 weeks by white transparent
polythene sheet (100 gauges) during the month of May before establishing the grafts from mother plants into polythene
bags or nursery.
• Application of FYM/cornpost at 20-25 t/ha or non-edible oil cakes at 2 t/ha in the nursery as well as in the main field at
transplanting and at ‘Bahar’ (blossom) every year.
• Inter-cropping with sunhemp, tagetes, mustard, fenugreek, onion, garlic etc. during rest period.
• Application of bioagents (Trichoderma viride, P. lilacinus, Pseudomonas fluorescens etc.) at 10 to 20 g/m2 nursery or at 5
kg with 100 kg FYM/compost/ha in the main field at transplanting as well as at ‘Bahar’ (blossom) every year.
• Soil application of carbofuran 3G or phorate 10G at 2 kg a.i./ha in the nursery as well as at transplanting in the main field
and at 4 kg a.i./ha at ‘Bahar’ (blossom) every year.
Betelvine
• Crop rotation with sesame/groundnut/marigold prior to planting of betelvine helped in reducing the nematode population.
• Application of neem cake @ 2 tons/ha in betelvine gardens is effective in reducing nematode population and in increasing
the yield.
• Castor/neem cake @ 500 kg/ha along with fungal bioagent, P. lilacinus helped in controlling the nematodes infecting
betelvine.