Parasitism of the root knot nematode meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and white) chitwood in five wild solanaceae species

Abstract

There is a high incidence of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita in several economically important species of Solanaceae. This nematode causes damage to the roots, leading even to the death of the plant, causing economic losses for the producer. This research was carried out in greenhouse to assess the response of five species of wild Solanaceae (Solanum auriculatum, S.hirtum, S.hispidum, S.arboreum and Nicotiana glauca) to the infestation of M. incognita was evaluated. A randomized block design with three replicates was used. The initial inoculum was obtained from infested roots of tree tomato (S. betaceum Cav.), which was propagated in kidney tomato plants (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) hibrid ‘Sheila’ which was used to inoculate the wild Solanaceae plus two susceptible controls (S. betaceum and S. quitoense) were inoculated with a dose of 2500 larvae. According to the reproduction factor of the nematode, S. arboreum, S. hirtum and N. glauca showed resistance because obtained values less than 1. In addition, S. hirtum (14.88) and N. glauca (22.67) showed the lowest number of root knots. In terms of foliage yield (dry weight), a response of tolerance was observed in all species except for the controls. It can be concluded that S. hirtum (compatible with S. quitoense-naranjilla) and N. glauca (compatible with S. betaceum-tree tomato) might be used as rootstocks of Solanaceae fruit crops of commercial importance in Ecuador, contributing to the integrated fruit production system.