Effects of Root-Knot Nematode Inoculums Densities on Morphological and Phytochemical Analysis of Selected Horse Gram Germplasm

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita; RKN) are important constraints on agricultural crops worldwide. Horse gram is a vulnerable pulse crop from the agriculture revolution exceptionally in southern India. This study intended to assess the resistance of four Horse gram accessions IC-1536, IC-1572, IC-1451 and IC-1115 selected from 100 accessions based on the morphological and biochemical scrutiny. Individual seedlings were transferred in the clay pots packed with sterile soil and inoculated with three doses (25, 50 and 100) of second stage juveniles of M. incognita. All nematode inoculums densities influenced the shoot length of plants, flowering and yield. The level of amino acid, proline, protein, total phenol and flavonoids contents were increased while carbohydrate and starch contents were decreased in all the varieties compared to the 15_th day after inoculation. It is pointed out that M. incognita has not only impaired the plant growth but also biochemical parameters such as chlorophyll pigments, primary and secondary metabolites.