Management of Meloidogyne incognita in tomato using soil conditioner

Soil conditioners have humic acid levels which can control nematodes and promote plant nutrition. The objective of this work was to evaluate different concentrations and doses of commercial soil conditioner Premium® on motility, mortality, hatching, infectivity and reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita in tomato. In order to evaluate motility, mortality, and hatching, second stage juveniles (J2) or eggs were subjected to incubation at different concentrations of soil conditioner. To evaluate infectivity and reproduction, infested soil with M. incognita were mixed to different concentrations of commercial soil conditioner. Thirty-day-old tomato seedlings (cv. Kada) were transplanted into the pots and after 30 days the numbers of galls, egg masses and eggs per gram of root were evaluated. The use of soil conditioner drastically reduced motility at a concentration of 66.67 g L-1 and caused mortality above 98% in M. incognita J2 at 133.33 g L-1. Exposure of eggs to soil conditioner reduced J2 hatching by more than 50% at a concentration of 2.5 g L-1. Highest concentrations of soil conditioner provided lower infectivity and reproduction of M. incognita in tomato. Soil conditioner at a dose of 5.0 g provided greater development of the root system, demonstrating the efficiency of this product.