Comparative efficacy of biocontrol agents, organic amendments and pesticides against Meloidogyne incognita on tomato cv. K-25

An experiment was conducted under pot conditions to determine the comparative efficacy of native biocontrol agents viz., Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate PS-4, Trichoderma harzianum isolate TH-H-3 and T. virens isolate TV-K-3 @ 0.5x109 cfu/kg soil; organic amendment materials viz., neem seed powder @ 250 mg/kg soil and farmyard manure @ 1500 mg/kg soil; pesticides viz., carbofuran @ 33.4 mg/kg soil, topsin-M @ 1.4 mg/kg soil and bavistin @ 2.0 mg/kg soil against Meloidogyne incognita @1000 J2/kg soil on plant growth and fruit yield of tomato cv. K- 25. Results revealed that all the treatments significantly increased the plant growth and fruit yield of tomato as compared to untreated inoculated plants. Highest plant dry weight (46.0 g/plant) and fruit yield (212.0 g/plant) was obtained in plants treated with carbofuran followed by neem seed powder, T. harzianum isolate TH-H-3, P. fluorescens isolate PS-4, T. virens isolate TV-K-3, bavistin, topsin- M and farm yard manure, respectively. The highest reduction in nematode multiplication (2.6) and root-knot development (0.75) was found in carbofuran treated plants. Whereas, the highest reproduction factor (11.6) and root-knot index (2.85) was observed in untreated inoculated plants.