In Vitro Study on Nematicidal Effect of Silver Nanoparticles Against Meloidogyne incognita

Plant-parasitic nematodes remain a significant challenge to agriculture and horticulture. Unfortunately, there is a lack of rapid, efficient and eco-friendly control methods. Nanomaterials, therefore, appear to be a promising source of new plant protection strategies. In the current study, two nanosystems-based on one-component (Ag) or two-component (AgZn) colloidal systems-and an aqueous solution of AgNO₃, were explored for their potential in nematode control, using <i>Meloidogyne incognita</i>-the most economically important root-knot nematode-as a model nematode. In vitro laboratory tests demonstrated high efficacy of all the tested compounds towards <i>M. incognita</i>. Incubation with an extremely low concentration of silver compounds (0.05 ppm) resulted in a 100% reduction of the <i>M. incognita</i> invasive larvae viability, as well as a 100% inhibition of the egg hatch process. Preliminary tests also showed no negative impact of tested compounds on seed germination. Thus, the nanosystems tested within this study offer a promising alternative to the current methods used for nematode control.