Indian Journal of Agricultural Research

Root knot disease caused by the nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chit wood is a serious problem in mulberry and causes severe damage to growth and development of plants. Root knot nematode alter or depletes nutritional values of mulberry leaves and adversely affects to the silkworm health in turn decreases cocoon quality and quantity. The anatomical changes in the roots due to nematode infestation affects the cocoon crop negatively, because mulberry leaves main food source for silkworm Bombyx mori L. ultimately leads to economic loss in silk industry.

Hence the present study has been taken up to understand the histopathological changes that occur in the roots of mulberry V1 variety plants infested with nematode Meloidogyne incognita studied under the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with an interval of 15 and 60 days after nematode inoculation.

After fifteen days the root samples have shown thick starchy grains were accumulated in the parenchymatous cells and intracellular movement of juveniles. Sixty days after the infested root samples had shown a number of large sized galls or knots. Ultra- structural observation of the root gall cross sections under scanning electron microscope revealed that serious anatomical changes occur in the infested mulberry root tissues.