Weed Species Not Impaired by Verticillium dahliae and Meloidogyne incognita Relationships that Damage Chile Pepper

Abstract

The chile pepper (Capsicum annuum) crop is affected by several pests, pathogens, and weeds including Verticillium dahliae, Meloidogyne incognita, spurred anoda (Anoda cristata), Wright groundcherry (Physalis acutifolia), and tall morningglory (Ipomoea purpurea). These weed species are unimpaired hosts to V. dahliae and M. incognita. Chile plants have been found co-infected with V. dahliae and M. incognita in commercial fields. Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the relationships among V. dahliae, M. incognita, and each of the four aforementioned plant species. Plants were either non-inoculated or inoculated with V. dahliae, M. incognita, or V. dahliae plus M. incognita. Six weeks after inoculation, plant infection by V. dahliae, M. incognita reproduction, plant height and biomass were measured. Three relationships were identified: V. dahliae was recovered from 100% of all four inoculated plant species, irrespective of M. incognita treatment; V. dahliae and M. incognita enhanced or had no effect on weed biomass but were pathogenic to chile; and co-infection by V. dahliae had no effect on nematode reproduction in the first M. incognita generation on the crop or weeds. These biological relationships suggest that the competitive impact of the weeds may increase and pathogen diversity may be affected in infested fields, ultimately impacting the efficacy of our common IPM tools. Accepted for publication 17 July 2013. Published 20 September 2013.