Vegetable production and nematodes infestation: Impacts on small-scale farming communities of South Africa

Abstract

The South African agricultural sector is vital to the food and nutrition security of the population that is expected to increase from 54.4 million in 2019 to about 65.5 million by the year 2050. This increase in population emphasizes the need for a collaborative effort by all players in the agricultural value chain to ensure that natural resources are appropriately managed. Plant-parasitic nematodes are pests that threaten crop production worldwide, and root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne species) are rated number-one due to their global occurrence, broad host range, and the damages inflicted in vegetable crops. The parasitism by Meloidogyne species delays crop maturity and reduces yield, which, together with poor quality of produce lead to escalating production costs, substantial income losses to farmers, and abandonment of community gardens. With the ban on synthetic fumigants, particularly methyl bromide, attention on management of this pest has generally shifted to the use of some ecologically-friendly approaches. The challenges of sufficiency and sustainability in vegetable production has become more intense with the rise in food demand of the increasing population, climate change, as well as biodiversity of complex pests associated with vegetable production. This review discusses vegetable production and its economic potentials in South Africa, damages to vegetable crops by the root-knot nematodes and their management, the outlook of smallholder farmers as well as identifies probable solutions toward the containment of nematode pest for food sufficiency and security in vegetable production in South Africa.