Page 23 - Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2011
Basic HTML Version
© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
1
Laboratory of Nematology, Department of Entomolo-
gy and Agricultural Zoology, Benaki Phytopathologi-
cal Insitute, 8 St. Delta Str., GR-145 61, Kifissia (Athens),
Greece
2
Faculty of Agricultural Development, Democritus
University of Thrace, 193, Ath. Pantazidou Str., GR-628
00, Orestiada, Greece
3
Laboratory of Chemistry, Agricultural University of
Athens, 75 Iera Odos Str., GR-118 55, Athens, Greece
Corresponing author:
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal
4:
21-24, 2011
SHORT COMMUNICATION
The effect of a garlic essential oil component and
entomopathogenic nematodes on the suppression of
Meloidogyne javanica
on tomato
I. Anastasiadis
1
, A.C. Kimbaris
2
, M. Kormpi
1
, M.G. Polissiou
3
and E. Karanastasi
1
Summary
Root-knot nematodes are worldwide distributed plant pests with a wide range of hosts
that cause downgrading and unmarketability of produce, significant yield decrease, or even total fail-
ure of various crops. The entomopathogenic nematodes have extensively been studied as a potential
alternative method for the control of plant parasitic nematodes. In addition, the essential oil of garlic
and its volatile components that possess fumigant properties against several plant pests and patho-
gens have also been shown to suppress plant parasitic nematodes. The present work is a pilot study
examining the possibility of a combined action of
Steinernema carpocapsae
and diallyl disulfide, a vol-
atile component of garlic essential oil, against
Meloidogyne javanica
. The results of the study showed
that the combined use of
S.
carpocapsae
and diallyl disulfide significantly reduced the population of
M. javanica
on tomato.
Additional keywords
: diallyl disulfide, root-knot nematodes,
Steinernema carpocapsae
Root-knot nematodes (
Meloidogyne
Goldi
1892 - RKN) are obligate parasites of higher
plants distributed worldwide causing con-
siderable yield losses and reduction of prod-
uct quality on almost every plant species.
Garlic essential oil and its volatile compo-
nents have repeatedly been studied and it is
now commonly accepted that they possess
fumigant properties against several plant
pests and pathogens, including plant para-
sitic nematodes (PPN) (5, 7). Diallyl disulfide,
used in the present study, is one of the gar-
lic essential oil volatile components that ac-
counts for 30-50% of the total sulphide mix-
ture (13). Entomopathogenic nematodes
(EPN) (
Heterorhabditis
and
Steinernema
spe-
cies) are obligate parasites of insects that
kill their hosts by introducing their bacteri-
al symbionts (
Photorhabdus
and
Xenorhab-
dus
species, respectively) into the insect’s
haemocoel (2, 4). Surprisingly, some 25 years
ago, it was shown that the co-existence of
PPN and EPN causes a reduction in PPN pop-
ulations (3, 6, 10). The objective of the pres-
ent study was to examine whether there is a
possibility of a combined action of EPN and
diallyl disulfide in suppressing RKN.
The
Meloidogyne javanica
(
Mj
) inoculum
was produced on tomato
plants cv. ‘Bella-
dona’, maintained in a growth chamber at
25
o
C for two months. Egg masses of
Mj
were
randomly hand-picked from the infected to-
mato roots and used immediately for soil in-
oculation.
Steinernema carpocapsae
(Sc) (Koppert
B.V. Berkel eb Rodenrijs, The Netherlands®)
was reared on
Galleria melonella
(Lepi-
doptera: Pyralidae) at 25
o
C (8). Infective ju-
veniles were recovered using White traps
