Biological Control Potential of Bridelia wild (Bridelia ferruginea) and Wild Sage (Lantana camara) against Root-knot Nematode of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.)

Abstract

Assessment of plant Lantana camara and Bridelia ferruginea based aqueous extracts and powdered form were evaluated on root-knot nematode pest of two tomato varieties at the Screen house of the Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. The experimental design was a completely randomized design and was replicated four times. The two varieties of tomato (Roma – VF and UC 82 – B) have been confirmed to be prone to root-knot nematode. Three seeds of tomato were planted in each pot that contained 7kg of sterilized soil and later thinned into one; each pot was inoculated with 4,500 root-knot nematode eggs. The plant materials used as treatments were L. camara and B. ferruginea aqueous and powdered with an application rate of 50ml and 20g per pot respectively. Untreated pot served as control. Data collected were vegetative parameters and reproductive parameters of tomato, soil and root nematode population as well as the galling rates. The experiment results revealed that L. camara and B. ferruginea aqueous extracts and powdered significantly increased growth and yield of the two tomato varieties grown in the Meloidogyne incognita nematode inoculated soil, while root-knot nematode population in soil and root were significantly reduced. Gall index was also significantly lower in the L. camara and B. ferruginea treated tomato compared to the un-inoculated control. Lantana camara and Bridellia ferruginea were effective potential measures for controlling root-knot nematode where the soil is heavily infested