Weeds as alternate hosts of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in Coconut garden Rajkumar*, Pervez Rashid1, Surekha, Bhat Ravi ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod-671 124 1ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India *rajkumarcpcri@gmail.com
Online published on 9 August, 2019. Abstract In this study, four weed species were found to be hosts for Meloidogyne incognita in coconut garden in costal sandy soils of Kasaragod, Kerala. Egg mass production and gall/knot index differed (P<0.05) among these weed species, Alternanthera sessilis (4.4 gall index) and Vernonia cinerea (3.8 gall index) were highly infected by the root knot nematode with maximum knots/galls compared to Ageratum conyzoides (2.5 gall index) and Leucas aspera (1.0 gall index). These weeds were more frequently encountered in coconut garden where plant parasitic nematodes are serious problem in vegetables, spices, fruits and other crops grown as intercrop/mixed crop in the coconut garden. Since, weeds are alternate host for plant parasitic nematodes, weed management is important for preventing multiplication of M. incognita and reduce the population build up in coconut gardens interm of growing nematode free intercrops/mixed crops and better yield to sustain the additional income of the farmer. Top Keywords Coconut, Meloidogyne incognita, Weeds. Top |