Eco-friendly Management of Rice Root - Knot Nematode Meloidogyne Graminicola) Using Different Botanicals

Abstract

Rice ( Oryza sativa), is the most important cereal crop worldwide since it provides staple food for more than half of the world's population. Among the biotic stresses, nematodes are quite important. Rice root-knot nematode, (Meloidogyne graminicola), is a sedentary endoparasite of rice roots and is the major species affecting rice production. The indiscriminate use of synthetic chemicals for the pests has posed serious threat to human health and environment leading to disturbed biodiversity, outbreaks of secondary pests, resurgence, development of resistance in the pathogens and contamination of food chain in the ecosystem. Botanicals are now emerging as nematicidal and nematostatic products which are economical, eco-friendly and agronomically useful techniques to be used in protection of crop produce and environment from pesticidal pollution. The present investigations were carried out to study different symptoms produced by rice RKN and evaluation of different plant extracts against juveniles (J2) of M graminicola in-vitro at 5%, 10%, 50%, 100% concentration and evaluation of botanicals against nematode in-vivo. It was observed that larval mortality of M graminicola after 24 hours at 100%, 50%, 10% and 5% concentration was higher in Jatropha curcas (94%), Catharanthus roseus (87.33%), Thevetia peruviana (83%),Tinospora cordifolia (79 %) respectively. At 48 hours, it was higher in Datura alba (99.67%), Prunus persica (91 .33%), Catharanthus roseus (90%) Tinospora cordifolia (90%) respectively. At 25 DAS, galls were not recorded in case of Chenopodium album, Azadirachta indica, Jatropha curcas, Thevetia peruviana, Calotropis procera, Tinospora cordifolia, Parthenium hysterophorus in-vivo. Maximum shoot length, root length, shoot weight, root weight was observed in Datura alba (33.1lcm), Chenopodium album (9.56 em), Aegle marmelos (1.22 gm), Catharanthus roseus (0.87 gm) respectively. At 50 DAS, minimum 1.56 galls/plant were recorded in case of Cannabis sativus. Maximum rice shoot length, root length, shoot weight, root weight were noted in Aegle marmelos (49.89 em) chenopodium album (15.78 em), Datura alba (3.01 gm), Azadirachta indica (3.88 gm). It can be concluded that there are several botanicals such as Chenopodium album, Datura alba, Azadirachta indica, Catharanthus roseus, Jatropha curcas, Tinospora cardifolia, Aegle marmelos which were really effective in managing rice R!<N· There is need to investigate, explore and develop nematicidal properties of different botamc~ls which is environmental friendly and may be integrated with organic amendment and potenttal bio-agents for the management of M graminicola. Hence, the present experiment.s . were performed to explore the possibility of using botanicals for the management of M grmmmcola.