Weeds Hosts of Nematodes in Sugarcane Culture

Abstract

ABSTRACT The presence of weeds and nematodes can affect of sugarcane yield. This research evaluated whether weeds that are very frequent in mechanized harvested sugarcane can be hosts for root-knot nematodes: Meloidogyne incognita or Meloidogyne javanica. Regarding nematode hospitability, ten weed species as well as a control sample (tomato) were evaluated; they were inoculated with M. incognita and M. javanica. The plants were inoculated with 2,000 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2), and there were three plants per experimental unit (6,000 eggs and J2 per pot - repeatition); 60 days after inoculation (DAI), the plants were removed and evaluated according to reproduction factor (RF), nematode final population (FP) and reproducibility index (RI). Regarding weed hospitability, it was found that Luffa aegyptiaca acted as a host for both nematodes, with RF > 1, which was higher than the control sample. Digitaria horizontalis was classified as a host for M. incognita and as a non-host for M. javanica. Mucuna aterrima and Crotalaria spectabilis presented the lowest RF and FP. Ricinus communis and Ipomoea triloba presented galls when inoculated with M. incognita, but were not considered host, since they presented RF < 1. None of the weed species was considered immune, i.e., with RF = 0. The lowest RF values of M. incognita (race 3) were related to Crotalaria spectabilis and Euphorbia heterophylla plants. This demonstrates the ability of crotalarias in decreasing nematode population in the field and justifies its use in several areas before planting main crops.