Management of Meloidogyne incognita infesting Capsicum under protected cultivation

Management of root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita infesting capsicum growing in polyhouse has been attempted using soil solarization along with application of bioagents like Trichoderma viride, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Paecilomyces lilacinus in Alawalpur village in Palwal district of Haryana. Initially soil was subjected to solarizaion prior to planting and application of biocontrol agents. Results indicated complete reduction in the nematode population after soil solarization. Application of biocontrol agents 15 days prior to capsicum transplantion as prophylactic strategy prevented any further nematode incidence. As a result, this combinatorial approach significantly increased capsicum yields by 46.9% compared to untreated control (17%). Further, estimation of Costbenefit ratio revealed a net profit of 3, 08, 400 due to combination of solarization and biocontrol agents as against 7, 000 from untreated control plots. It could be concluded that root knot nematode, M. incognita could be completely controlled by combining the above two techniques leading to higher yields and monetary benefit to the farmers.