Abstract
In a survey of 46 Queensland soils for fungi capable of parasitising eggs of root-knot nematodes, the only species recovered were Verticillium chlamydosporium and Paecilomyces lilacinus. When the soils were potted, planted to tomatoes and inoculated with root-knot nematodes, eggs parasitised by these fungi were observed more commonly in soils that had been naturally infested with the nematode than in soils where the nematode was absent. P. lilacinus was commonly isolated from chitin-amended soil but the addition of chitin did not increase egg parasitism. To identify isolates with the best biocontrol potential, 26 isolates of P. lilacinus and 13 isolates of V. chlamydosporium were screened for parasitic activity against eggs of Meloidogyne javanica using three different tests. Within each test, the number of eggs parasitised by different isolates of the same fungus varied considerably, suggesting that isolates differed in virulence. Two isolates of V. chlamydosporium and one isolate of P. lilacinus were highly parasitic in all three tests.
Published Version
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