ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.

Sec. Plant Pathogen Interactions

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1602326

This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Plant-Based Strategies for Managing Plant-Parasitic NematodesView all 5 articles

Effect of Botanicals, Organic Nutrient Sources, and Bio-Control Agents on Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) Infecting Tomato

Provisionally accepted
Vimala GVimala G1Mansi MachalMansi Machal1VIRENDRA SINGH RANAVIRENDRA SINGH RANA2Dr. Najam Akhtar ShakilDr. Najam Akhtar Shakil2Rashid PervezRashid Pervez1Ashish Kumar SinghAshish Kumar Singh1*Ravinder KumarRavinder Kumar3MUKESH JAIMANMUKESH JAIMAN1Pankaj SinghPankaj Singh1*
  • 1Division of Nematology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
  • 2Division of Agricultural Chemicals, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
  • 3Division of Plant Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India

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Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) causes up to 30% yield loss in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) worldwide, and reliance on synthetic nematicides poses serious environmental and health risks. This study explores sustainable alternatives by evaluating the nematicidal potential of Mentha spicata and Piper longum essential oils and extracts, along with Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B.B. subtilis, under both in vitro and microplot conditions. Essential oils exhibited significant juvenile mortality and egg hatching inhibition at low concentrations, outperforming solvent extracts. In microplots, all treatments-including combinations with organic amendments (farm yard manure, vermicompost, and paddy straw)-significantly reduced nematode populations, improved tomato growth, and enhanced soil fertility. The combined biocontrol treatments performed comparably to the chemical nematicide Velum Prime 400 SC, while also increasing soil organic carbon and NPK content (P < 0.05).These findings demonstrate that integrating botanicals, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and organic amendments provides an effective, eco-friendly alternative for managing root-knot nematodes, contributing to resilient and sustainable tomato production systems.

Keywords: Root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), biocontrol agents, Green pesticides

Received: 29 Mar 2025; Accepted: 02 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 G, Machal, RANA, Shakil, Pervez, Singh, Kumar, JAIMAN and Singh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Ashish Kumar Singh, Division of Nematology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, 110 012, India
Pankaj Singh, Division of Nematology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, 110 012, India

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