Abstract:
Sedentary vascular endoparasite Root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is the major pest
of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). As M. incognita is a polyphagous pest, it is very
difficult to manage unless proper monitoring from the planting. Therefore, this research was
aimed at managing root-knot nematode with different medicinal plant composts to reduce
hazards of chemical application. Leaves of lantana (Lantana camara), cotton seed (Gossypium
hirsutum), castor seed (Ricinus communis), neem oil cake (Azadirachta indica), marigold flower
(Tagetes erecta), tamarind leaf (Tamarindus indica), avaram flower (Alexandrian senna) were
mixed with fresh cow dung in 1:1 ratio separately and allowed to decompose for one month.
Derived compost was tested for its nutritional quality (N-Kjeldhal method, P-Spectophotometer
method, K- flame photometer method). All the experiments for eight treatments including the
control treatment were carried out under a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three
replicates. Data were subjected to ANOVA using SAS statistical software. In the NPK analysis
of each compost, the highest significant nitrogen value (4.81%) was recorded in neem cake and
the highest phosphorus content (2.6%) was recorded in cotton-based compost. The highest
potassium value (7.9%) was recorded in tamarind-based compost. All the plant-based compost
showed the lowest gall formation in varying degrees compared to the control. Although, the
number of root galls was significantly low in castor compost (6.00 ± 0.2). The results confirmed
that the castor, marigold, neem cake, and cotton plant-based compost stimulated the plant height,
and reduced the nematode infestation. Lantana has a significant effect on plant growth
parameters however the number of galls was high (20.6 ± 0.3) in Lantana. Nematicidal
properties of castor, marigold, neem cake, and cotton-based compost need to be investigated in
future studies.
