Microbial control of Meloidogyne incognita on Capsicum chinense under an organic production system

Background/objective. Habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) cultivation is limited by root-knot nematodes such as Meloidogyne incognita, and its control is achieved through the repeated application of synthetic nematicides. An alternative is the application of microbial agents. The objective of this study was to evaluate the control of M. incognita with native Trichoderma spp. in C. chinense, in an organic production system. Materials and Methods. Seedlings of the 45-day-old Izamal cultivar were used and transplanted with a substrate based on soil, bocashi and volcanic rocks (6:3:1), three inoculations of native strains of Trichoderma asperellum (Ta13-17), T. erinaceum (Te10-15) and their combination were applied at the time of transplantation, and eight and 15 days later, as control treatments: a nematicide (Vydate®) and water. Four destructive samplings were carried out during the crop cycle, and the variables were the severity with the galling index, number of eggs and females per g of root. Results. In relation to the control, the combination of T. asperellum (Ta13-17) and T. erinaceum (Te10-15) caused significantly lower severity of the nematode estimated with the AUDPC. The apparent infection rate using the Weibull model (1/b) and final galling index (4.13%), also showed the lowest average reproduction of the nematode (number of eggs and females per g of root). With the combination of T. asperellum (Ta13-17) and T. erinaceum (Te10-15) the crop yield was significantly improved by 47.26 and 34.25 % in relation to the control and Vydate®, respectively. Conclusion. In an organic production system of habanero pepper for the control of M. incognita; the individual application of T. asperellum (Ta13-17) significantly decreased the gall index; however, when combined with T. erinaceum (Te10-15) it improved nematode control (86.17%).