Bio-potential of Aqueous Extract of Verbesina encelioides, Moringa oleifera, Cassia fistula against Meloidogyne incognita

Abstract

Background: The Meloidogyne incognita is the most destructive pathogen and causes loss of yield of various economically important plants of various families. It is polyphagous in behaviour and has a high reproductive rate, these parameters are a hurdle in management of it. Various chemicals are used to control nematode worldwide that are very expensive and highly toxic to the environment and human beings. For ecologically safe method, three plants i.e. Verbesina encelioides, Moringa oleifera, Cassia fistula and their various parts such as leaf, stem and flower’s cold aqueous extracts were tried in vitro to test their nematicidal activity. Methods: Cold aqueous extracts (10% w/v) of each plant material were prepared by mixing 10g of each plant material in 100 ml of distilled water and kept aside for 48 hours. To estimate inhibition of egg hatching and mortality rate of second stage juveniles of Meloidogyne incognita, eggs and juveniles were exposed for 24, 48 and 72 hours in different concentrations (20 ppm to 200 ppm) of plant extracts. Result: All three tested plant extracts showed promising nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita and the leaf extract of Moringa oleifera prevents the hatching of eggs. Inhibition of larval hatching from egg and nematode mortality rate were strongly influenced by concentration of extract, plant species and duration of exposure.