Root-Knot Disease of vegetable--- Tomato

 Berkeley in 1855 first reported the occurrence of root galls on glass

house grown cucumbers in England.
 In India Barber (1901) recorded this nematode for the first time
on tea from Kerala.
 The average annual yield loss of the worlds major vegetable
crops by nematodes is 12.3%.
 Losses caused by Meloidogyne spp. were recorded as 30.6-77.5 % in
Tomato.
 World wide basis yield losses 20.6% due to phytoparasitic
nematodes
 The Meloidogyne spp. infecting tomato know as M. incognita, M.
javanica, M. arenaria, M. incognita acrita, M. hapla, M. africana,
M. lucknowica and M. thamesi
 Symptoms
The above – ground symptoms are not
diagnostic.
Stunted growth, yellowing of foliage, wilting
during hot dry periods, undersized fruits and
reduced yields are the common symptoms.
These are similar to those induced by nutrient
deficiency and water stress.
 Damage is most pronounced when infection
occurs in the early stage of plant growth,
particularly in transplanted crops where
seedling mortality may also occur.
Heavily infected seedling fail to
establish or may remain moribund.
Plant mortality is rare but whenever it
occurs, is the result of secondary
infection by other pathogens.
Below – ground symptoms are typical-
Formation of root galls or knots is
diagnostic of root-knot nematode
infection.
The intensity of galling and size of the galls
are variable depending upon root-knot
nematode species, nematode population,
susceptibility of the crop, and age of the crop.
Generally, in the initial stage of plant growth,
galls (primary galls) are small.
 But as the nematode completes one life cycle,
reinfection by second generation J-2 leads to
formation of more galls.
 The adjacent galls coalesce to form bigger
compound galls, which are easily visible at
later stages of crop growth.
Okra

Brinjal
 BIOLOGY AND LIFE-CYCLE
Root-knot nematode are sedentary
endoparasites.
Saccate female are completely embedded
inside the root galls, with heads located near
the vascular tissues and terminal portions
near the root epidermis.
Reproduction is generally parthenogenetic.
Males are vermiform, wander in soil and are
non-parasitic.
The rectal glands of the females secrete
gelatinous substance on the root surface in
which eggs are deposited.
Oviposition continues for 10-12 days, each
female lays about 200-400 eggs held
together in an eggmass.
 Occasionally, eggmasses may be formed
inside the roots, particularly in compound
galls.
J-2 hatch out, move freely in soil in search of
new roots of the same plant or some other
plants and is the only infective stage.
This stage is also known as preparasitic J-2.
Under normal conditions J-2 can remain in
soil for several days, deriving energy from
reserve food material.
 However, under adverse environmental
conditions, J-2 survive in soil for several
months in an inactive phase (to cut down
metabolism) when the body shrinks and coils.
Initially the J-2 move in soil randomly, but
once in the vicinity of host roots, they are
attracted towards them due to the presence
of exudates emanating from the roots.
The J-2 penetrate the roots just behind the
root tip (meristematic zone).
Penetration is facilitated by repeated stylet
thrusts and/or enzymes secreted by the
nematode oesophageal glands.
 The J-2 move through the root cells and
position themselves with head located
near the vascular tissues, while rest of
the body is completely inside the cortex.
 At this stage, J-2 becomes sessile and
initiates the development of feeding sites
(giant cells).
As the feeding process begins, the J-2 start
assuming swollen shape, now called parasitc J-2.
Sex differentiation occurs at this stage, the
juveniles destined to become females acquire V-
shaped genital primordium, while in males, it is
I-shaped.
 Under optimum conditions, second moult
occurs in about a week and J-3 is formed.
The third moult follows quickly and the juvenile
changes to J-4.
 J-3 and J-4 retain the old cuticle, the pointed
tail of J-2 still visible, and hence are also called
as spike-tailed stages,which are short lived
The body grows in width, genital primordial
develop further, but these stages are non-
feeding as they lack stylet.
At the last moult, the adult female becomes
sac-like, stylet reappears, and the
reproductive system gets fully developed
with vulval opening making its appearance.
The adult males are however, vermiform,
coiled inside the J-4 cuticle emerge out and
leave the roots to come out into the soil.
 Adverse environmental conditions after
penetration may induce maleness in the
developing juveniles.
The whole life cycle is completed in about 25
days at 25-300C which is optimum for most
species.
During winter season under North India
conditions, the life cycle duration may be
prolonged to 60-80 days depending upon
prevailing temperature.
 Thus 7-8 overlapping generations are
completed in a year.
 B

C
FIGURE 15-10 Stages in the life cycle of the root-knot nematode. (A)
Nematode egg with second-stage juvenile ready to hatch. (B) Second-stage
juvenile penetrating root tissues. (C) Female root-knot nematode in plant root
causing the formation of and feeding on “giant cells.”
 E D

(D) Longitudinal section of Meloidogyne female feeding on giant cells. (E) Root-
knot female laying eggs outside the root. [Photographs courtesy of (A) D. W.
Dickson, (B) USDA, and (C–E) R. A. Rohde.]
HOST- PARASITE RELATIONSHIP
The pre parasitic infective J-2 are attracted to the
zone of elongation, where they penetrate the root
and then migrate inter cellularly, separating cells at
the middle lamella in the cortical tissue.
The juveniles usually migrate down to the root tip,
then turn around in the region of the root of
differentiation.
 This process appears to include both mechanical
force and enzymatic secretions from the
nematode.
Enzymes secreted by the nematode oesophageal
glands are released into the host cells and
initiate a chain of reactions in procambial cells
leading to the formation of feeding sites.
Endodermal, pericycle, xylem and phloem
tissues around the nematode head become
enlarged, multinucleate with dense cytoplasm,
showing hyper metabolism.
 These giant cells function much like transfer
cells or metabolic sinks where the nutrients
absorbed by the roots are continuously pooled
and diverted to nematode for its growth and
development.
The disruption in the continuity of
conducting vessels hampers the flow of
nutrients and water to the shoots, leading to
reduced plant growth and yield.
 The formation of giant cells is essential for
successful host-parasite relationship.
 If a nematode fails to induce the formation
of these feeding sites, it does not develop
further and dies.
Such a situation arises in incompatible
hosts.
Simultaneously, the protease enzymes released
by nematodes, act on host proteins breaking
them into amino acids.
The concentration of amino acids, particularly
tryptophan, which is a precursor of IAA (indole
acetic acid), leads to the accumulation of auxins
or hormonal imbalance at the site of infection.
Thus, instead of growing longitudinally, the
roots grow axially due to hyperplasia and
hypertrophy of cortical parenchyma cells.
This results in the formation of a swelling – the
root gall or knot at the site of juvenile
penetration within 1-2 days of infection.
 Management --Cultural methods
 Two to three deep summer ploughings at 10–15 days
interval during May/ June are very effective and kill
most of the J2 in soil due to desiccation and exposure to
high temperature.
 Use of plastic mulching can further enhance the
efficacy of this method. Polythene sheets can be used to
cover moist soil in small areas like nursery beds for 3–4
weeks before sowing in hot summer, increase soil
temp. by 8⁰C.
 Rabbing is another method to raise root–knot nematode
free seedlings.
 After ploughing the nursery area to a fine tilth, a 15–20
cm thick layer of rice husk (20 kg/m2) is spread on the
n surface and burnt. The ash is mixed with top soil and a
week later seeds can be sown.
 Crop rotations of 2-5 years , cropping sequences
including poor hosts or antagonistic plants can be adopted
to keep nematode population below damaging levels.
Cereal crops like wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, pearl
millet or antagonistic crops like onion, garlic, sesame
can be fitted into rotations.
 Interculture of antagonistic crops like tagetes in
between susceptible crops or cultivation of onion,
garlic.
 Nursery bed treatment with carbofuran 3G at 10g
a.i. /m or aldicarb 10 g a.i./m.
 Destruction of weeds.
 Root dip with phorate/ aldicarb/ carbofuran at
500 ppm for 1hr.
 Seed dressing with aldicarb sulfone or
carbosulfan@2-3 % w/w
 Soil application with Aldicarb / carbofuran 3G @
3 kg a.i./ha.
 Seed treatment with oil cakes i.e., neem/mahua/
n groundnut @ 10 – 20 %(w / w )
 Organic amendments with neem/mahua/mustard/
castor cake at 1 kg/sq.m.
 Bioagents like Pasteuria penetrans. Glomus
fasciculatum, G. mossae, Trichoderma harzianum
Paecilomyces lilacinus etc., have been reported to be
effective .
 Use of tolerant/resistant varieties of TOMATO
e.g. – SL-12, SL-120, PNR-7, VFN-360, CI-3104,
CI-3279 , Hisar Lalit, Nematex
 Integrated Management

 No single method may be sufficient to avoid

significant damage due to root–knot nematode.

 Deep summer ploughing of the main field +

nematicidal treatment/ rabbing of nursery beds+
incorporation of poor hosts/resistant variety in
cropping sequences can be integrated to keep the
nematode population below damaging threshold.
SYSTEMATIC POSTION
Phylum : Nematoda
Class : Secernentea
Order : Tylenchida
Suborder : Hpololaimina
Superfamily : Hoplolaimoidea
Family : Meloidogynidae
Subfamily : Meloidogyninae
Genus : Meloidogyne
Species : incognita/ javanica