Mário M. Inomoto

Host status of green manures for two isolates of Pratylenchus brachyurus in Brazil

Due to the complexity of management of plant-parasitic nematodes in cash crops, the use of non-chemical methods, such as rotation with green manures, has increased in recent years. However, data about the host status of green manures for lesion nematodes are scarce. Thus, two glasshouse trials were carried out to evaluate the host status of some green manures for two isolates of Pratylenchus brachyurus, a root-lesion nematode often found attacking soybean, maize and cotton in Brazil. Green manures tested were pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) cultivars Fava Larga and Iapar 43, Crotalaria juncea, C. spectabilis, C. mucronata, C. breviflora, C. ochroleuca, C. paulina, velvetbean (Mucuna pruriens) cvs Black, Dwarf and Gray. Soybean cv. Pintado and French marigold (Tagetes patula) were included as standard good and poor hosts for P. brachyurus. In a separate glasshouse experiment, a naturally infested soil was used to evaluate the suitability of two green manures to P. brachyurus in comparison with two gramineaceous cover crops. In addition, morphometric studies were carried out with the two isolates of P. brachyurus used in experiments in order to confirm the species. Among the 11 green manures tested, at least two, C. spectabilis and C. breviflora, can be useful as rotation crops to reduce population densities of P. brachyurus, irrespective of the origin of the nematode. By contrast, all velvetbean cultivars and C. juncea must be avoided in infested areas as they are good hosts for the nematode.

Ocorrência de Pratylenchus brachyurus e Meloidogyne incognita na cultura do algodoeiro no Estado do Mato Grosso

In a survey carried out in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, the lesion nematode, Pratylenchus brachyurus, and the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, were found, respectively, in 94% and 3.7% of a total of 623 root and soil samples representing 21,793 ha. No visible aboveground symptoms in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plants infected by P. brachyurus were observed, except for typical root lesions. In contrast, plants with M. incognita usually exhibited pronounced symptoms of damage. The high frequency (94%) of P. brachyurus was unexpected and is of concern considering the fact that soybean (Glycine max) and corn (Zea mays), are both susceptible to this nematode and are used in crop rotation programs.

Desempenho de cultivares de tomateiro em sistema orgânico sob cultivo protegido

Organic agriculture in Brazil has been increasing about 30% per year over the last few years, since consumers are seeking for healthier foods, i.e. nutritious and free of pesticide residues. Among organically grown vegetable crops, tomato is an attractive economic opportunity for growers. However, the lack of information about management practices and adapted cultivars to organic production systems under protected cultivation are pointed out as important constraints that prevents this activity to expand. This work aimed at evaluating the performance of indeterminate tomato cultivars in organic management systems in unheated plastic greenhouse. In both experiments tomato plants were staked. Plant spacing was 1.5 m between rows and 0.35 m between plants. They were planted in double line and spaced 0.8 m between lines and 0.6 m between plants (about 20,000 plants ha-1). The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design, with four replications and eight treatments (cultivars: Avalon, Colibri, HTX-5415, HTX-8027, Sahel, San Marzano, San Vito, and Jane). Sahel hybrid exhibited an outstanding performance for marketable yield under organic cultivation. Tomato pinworm (Tuta absoluta) was a serious limiting pest for organically grown tomatoes, responding for 17% of damage in the fruits harvested from the evaluated cultivars.

Avaliação de danos causados por Pratylenchus brachyurus em algodoeiro

Three greenhouse experiments and one field experiment were carried out to evaluate the damage caused by the lesion nematode Pratylenchus brachyurus on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plants. In the first experiment, three isolates of P. brachyurus (Pb20, Pb21, and Pb22) from different regions of Brazil were inoculated (12,000 nematodes/plant) in plantlets of cotton cv. Delta Opal and Fibermax 966. The initial populations of 3,000 and 12,000 nematodes/plant, and 12,000 and 30,000 nematodes/plant were tested in the second and third experiments, respectively, to evaluate the effect of isolate Pb20 on growth of cotton cv. Delta Opal. The results of experiments 1, 2 and 3 suggest that P. brachyurus is a mild pathogen for cotton, since nematode densities lower than 12,000 did not reduce plant growth. The experiment 4 was conducted in three cotton fields in in the State of Mato Grosso confirmed these results, since no correlation was observed between the root population of P. brachyurus and cotton yield.

Effect of population densities of Pratylenchus brachyurus on the growth of cotton plants

The effect of different population densities of Pratylenchus brachyurus on the growth of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) plants was studied in three greenhouse experiments, using cultivars IAC 20 and IAC 22. Both cultivars proved to be good hosts to the nematode, which however did not affect plant height and affected only slightly fresh root weight and dry top weight of both cultivars, even at the highest population density (over 9,000 nematodes/plant).

Cover crops for reniform nematode suppression in cotton: greenhouse and field evaluations

Foram realizados dois experimentos em casa de vegetacao e um experimento em campo, com o objetivo de avaliar a reacao de culturas de cobertura ao nematoide reniforme, Rotylenchulus reniformis, e seu efeito sobre a populacao do nematoide em uma area naturalmente infestada (2.359 nematoides/200cm3) e sobre a producao de algodao. As culturas de nabo forrageiro (Raphanus sativus), capim-mulato (Brachiaria ruziziensis x B. brizantha), sorgo forrageiro (Sorghum bicolor), tef (Eragrostis tef), capim-moa (Setaria italica), aveias amarela (Avena byzantina) e preta (A. strigosa), milheto (Pennisetum glaucum) e capim-pe-de-galinha (Eleusine coracana) comportaram-se como maus hospedeiros de R. reniformis nos experimentos em casa de vegetacao. Amaranto (Amaranthus cruentus) e quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) foram bons hospedeiros de R. reniformis. No campo, as menores densidades dos nematoides foram observadas nas parcelas onde foram cultivados capim-mulato, nabo forrageiro e sorgo forrageiro. As maiores produtividades de fibra de algodao foram obtidas nas parcelas cultivadas durante o outono e inverno com capim-mulato ou sorgo forrageiro, quando comparadas com aquelas que permaneceram em alqueive. A produtividade de algodao correlacionou-se negativamente com o fator de reproducao do nematoide nas culturas de cobertura (P < 0,05) e com a populacao de R. reniformis no plantio de algodao (P < 0,01).

Nematicidal effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne javanica

ABSTRACT Previous studies have demonstrated that volatile organiccompounds (VOCs), produced by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae ,were able to inhibit the development of phytopathogenic fungi. Inthis context, the nematicidal potential of the synthetic mixture ofVOCs, constituted of alcohols and esters, was evaluated for the controlof the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica , which causes lossesFialho, M.B.; Bessi, R.; Inomoto, M.M.; Pascholati, S.F. Nematicidal effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the plant-parasiticnematode Meloidogyne javanica. Summa Phytopathologica, v.38, n.2, p.152-154, 2012. Aditional Keywords: phytonematode, nematicide, fumigation, alternative controlto crops of high economic value. The fumigation of substrate containingsecond-stage juveniles with VOCs exhibited nematicidal effect higherthan 30% for the lowest concentration tested (33.3 µL g -1 substrate),whereas at 66.6 and 133.3 µL g -1 substrate, the nematode mortalitywas 100%. The present results stimulate other studies on VOCs fornematode management.

Sucessão de cultura sob pivô central para controle de fitonematoides: variação populacional, patogenicidade e estimativa de perdas

A field study conducted over three consecutive years, on a farm using crop rotation system under center-pivot and infested with the nematodes Pratylenchus brachyurus, P. zeae, Meloidogyne incognita, Paratrichodorus minor, Helicotylenchus dihystera, Mesocriconema ornata and M. onoense, demonstrated that intensive crop systems provide conditions for the maintenance of high densities of polyphagous phytonematodes. Of the crops established on the farm (cotton, maize, soybean and cowpea), cotton and soybean suffered the most severe crop losses, caused respectively by M. incognita and P. brachyurus. Since maize is a good host for both nematodes, but tolerant of M. incognita, its exclusion from cropping system would be favorable to the performance of cotton, soybean and cowpea. Results from experiments carried out in controlled conditions confirmed the pathogenicity of P. brachyurus on cotton. Additional management with genetic resistance was useful in fields infested with M. incognita, although the soybean performance was affected by low resistance of the cultivars used for P. brachyurus. In conclusion, crop rotation must be carefully planned in areas infested with polyphagous nematodes, specifically in the case of occurrence of two or more major pathogenic nematodes.

Carbon Fixation and Partitioning in Coffee Seedlings Infested with Pratylenchuscoffeae

The objective was to study CO2 fixation and photoassimilate partition in coffee (Coffea arabica) seedlings infested with the lesion nematode Pratylenchus coffeae. Seedlings infested with 0, 1000 and 8000 Pratylenchus coffeae nematodes were exposed to 14CO2 and the incorporation and distribution of radioactivity were followed in the roots, stems and leaves. Fresh mass, pigments, soluble sugars, sucrose and specific radioactivity of sucrose in the plant parts were determined. At the highest level of infestation almost all the parameters were significantly changed showing the carbon fixation in the leaves and partitioning to the roots were decreased. Since lesion nematodes are not sedentary and do not form feeding sites that could be characterised as metabolic sinks, it is suggested that their damage is more readily expressed by the leaves, through a reduction in photosynthesis and phloem transport.

Potencial de controle da erva-de-Santa-Maria sobre Pratylenchus brachyurus

Antagonist plants have been used as an alternative to control plant-parasitic nematodes. One in vitro assay and two greenhouse experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of Mexican-tea (Chenopodium ambrosioides) on the control of Pratylenchus brachyurus. In the in vitro test an extract of Mexican-tea was tested at four concentrations (20; 2; 0.2 and 0.02%), in suspensions containing 500 exemplars of P. brachyurus. After 48 h, living nematodes were collected and counted. A nematicidal action of Mexican-tea was observed by higher juvenile mortality in comparison with chemical control (aldicarb). In greenhouse experiments, 1 and 2, the Mexican-tea and soybean plants were inoculated with 1,500 and 5,000 P. brachyurus, respectively. Forty-five days later, plant shoots were incorporated in soil, as follows: shoots of Mexican-tea, were incorporated; shoots of soybean were incorporated; and plant shoots were not incorporated. One month later, each pot received one soybean plant, to act as a biological indicator of parasitism. At the end of experimental period (45 days later) the final nematode population was estimated by counting the nematodes extracted from soybean roots and soil, and data were collected of fresh root weight and shoot dry weight. Mexican-tea reduced the nematode population, although soybean plants had been affected by phytotoxicity.