Biological Control of Meloidogyne arenaria by Pasteuria penetrans

Abstract

An obligate parasitic bacterium of nematode, Pasteuria penetrans 98–35 (PP), isolated from oriental melon greenhouse soil in Korea, was evaluated against root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne arenaria (MA), in tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Youngkwang) and oriental melon ( Cucumis melo L. var. Eunchun). Pot experiments were conducted by planting the tomato seedlings in a medium inoculated with 5,000 MA juveniles/pot (J2), J2+100,000 PP endospores/1 g medium, and J2+200,000 PP endospores/1 g medium. After 10 weeks from planting, root gall percentage in J2+100,000 and J2+200,000 PP endospores/1 g medium were significantly lower with 37.5% and 6.7%, respectively, compared with the J2 of 85%. In the second planting of tomatoes in the same pots, root gall numbers were significantly lower in PP treated pots representing 68.8 and 31.4/root in J2+100,000 and J2+200,000 PP endospores/1 g medium, respectively, compared with the J2 of 460.6/plant. In oriental melon experiment, numbers of root galls after 10 weeks from planting were significantly lower in J2+100,000 endospores/1 g medium with 32.5 compared with 64.1 and 87.5 in J2+100,000 endospores/1 g medium and the J2, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in plant growth characteristics among the treatments in the both crops.