Interaction between Meloidogyne incognita and the fungus Fusarium sp. on black peppervine (Piper nigrum. L)

The interaction between the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and the fungus Fusarium sp. was studied in hybid cultivar, Panniyur-. 1. in pot culture condition. The result showed that the effect of this nematode in combimation with the fungus enhanced the suppression of growth of plant which is more pronounced than that of the fungus alone. Inoculation of the nematode and fungus revealed a synergistic effect on growth retardation of the plants. The fungal infection in stem portion was more in plants inoculated with nematode first followed by fungus inoculation (83%) than in simultaneous inoculatim, and fungus inoculation followed by nematode. (66%)