Control of Meloidogyne graminicola a Root-Knot Nematode Using Rice Plants as Trap Crops: Preliminary Results

Stefano Sacchi,Annachiara Fumagalli,Giulia Torrini,Giuseppe Mazza,Mariangela Ciampitti,Leonardo Marianelli,Pio Federico Roversi,Beniamino Cavagna

doi:10.3390/agriculture11010037

Stefano Sacchi, Annachiara Fumagalli + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11010037

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Abstract

Meloidogyne graminicola is one of the most harmful organisms in rice cultivation throughout the world. This pest was detected for the first time in mainland Europe (Northern Italy) in 2016 and was subsequently added to the EPPO Alert List. To date, few methods are available for the control of M. graminicola and new solutions are required. In 2019, field trials using rice plants as trap crops were performed in a Lombardy region rice field where five plots for three different management approaches were staked out: (i) Uncultivated; (ii) Treated: three separate cycles of rice production where plants were sown and destroyed each time at the second leaf stage; (iii) Control: rice was sown and left to grow until the end of the three cycles in treated plots. The results showed that in the treated plots, the nematode density and the root gall index were lower than for the other two management approaches. Moreover, the plant population density and rice plant growth were higher than the uncultivated and control plots. In conclusion, the use of the trap crop technique for the control of M. graminicola gave good results and thus it could be a new phytosanitary measure to control this pest in rice crop areas.

Highlights

Root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., are obligate plant-parasitic nematodes that cause serious damage and yield losses in a wide range of crops [1]
Meloidogyne graminicola (which was first discovered by Golden and Birchfield in 1965 (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae)), commonly named as the rice RKN, is considered as one of the most important damaging parasites for upland, lowland, and deep-water rice cultivation throughout the world, in South and Southeast Asia [4]
Future studies are necessary to establish the most effective number of trap crop cycles that are useful to reduce the presence of M. graminicola in the infested soils, maintaining its density below the level that allows the optimal growth of rice plants

Summary

Introduction

Root-knot nematodes (RKN), Meloidogyne spp., are obligate plant-parasitic nematodes that cause serious damage and yield losses in a wide range of crops [1]. Due to the importance of their economic impact, different management strategies have been developing to control these plant-parasitic nematodes, such as application of live microbes (e.g., bacteria, fungi) and/or their secondary metabolites, essential oils, plant extracts, ozonated water, silicon, steaming, and solarization. These environmentally benign strategies can be considered for replacing the chemicals commonly used in agriculture [3]. The second juvenile stage (J2) is the infective stage that hatches from the egg under favorable environmental conditions, finds the root, enters the meristematic zone, and induces the formation of giant galls by continuous feeding

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