Chapter 4 - Disease complexes and their sustainable management

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes are responsible for inciting important diseases in plants which lead to 7%–15% yield losses in agricultural and horticultural crops. Besides invading the plants, nematodes also have a unique ability to interact with other pathogens and pests in different ways. The synergistic interaction is one of those relationships that nematodes develop with soil-borne fungi and bacteria leading to the formation of disease complexes. Nematodes present in the root zone also facilitate the spread of some plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria by acting as a vector. Disease complexes involving root-knot nematodes and soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria wreak havoc on vegetable and pulse crops all over the world. In the present chapter, disease complexes resulting due to interaction of fungi or bacteria with nematodes are discussed in detail. The role of nematodes in biopredisposing the plants for enhanced infection by plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria and the management of disease complexes are critically analyzed and discussed.