Organic Amendments for Control of Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne Incognita) on Ginger.

Abstract

Poultry manure and sawdust (24, 36 or 48 tlha) were incorporated into soil with urea (0–1800 kg nitrogenlha) and their effects on yield of ginger and populations of Meloidogyne incognita were compared with those of nematicide programmes involving ethylene dibromide andlor fenamiphos. The pre-plant nematicide treatments proved inadequate but improved nematode control was achieved when these treatments were followed by postplant applications of fenamiphos. Total yields in soil amended with poultry manure or sawdust plus urea were greater than in non-amended soil and equal to or greater than those in the best nematicide treatments. The yield increase for poultry manure appeared to be due in part to its beneficial effects on soil fertility. Both amendments provided good control of root-knot nematodes, with significantly fewer rhizomes being discarded at late harvest from the amendment treatments than from the untreated and some nematicide-treated plots. Addition of the highest rates of urea to soil produced ammonium-nitrogen concentrations of more than 1000 μ/g soil, but no measurable effect on root-knot nematode populations or the degree of nematode damage.