Influence of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica on pre-and post-emergence damping-off of tomato

Root-knot nematode increased the extent of damage by pre-and post-emergence phases of damping-off caused initially by any of the three test fungi. Association of Fusarium +Rhizoctonia with or without nematode produced low percentage and long duration of damping-off, low root-knot index and low recovery of nematode population. Nematode+Rhizoctonia, in addition to causing high percentage of damping-off and rootknot index, also affected maximum reduction in shoot length and high nematode count of the soil. Mechanical wounding of roots, devoid of nematode, in the presence of any of the damping-off fungi exhibited low percentage of damping-off, minimum reduction in plant height and their fresh weight in comparision to the treatments where nematode replaced mechanical wounding.