Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural College, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore-560 065.
*Part of the Ph. D. thesis submitted by the Senior author to the Univeristy of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore-560 065, India.
The nematode galls on tomato plants treated with antibiotic KT-199 were studied by adopting histochemical techniques in comparison with the untreated control. The treatment with antibiotic markedly decreased the number of nematodes, the number and volume of giant cells and the nuclei in them as compared to untreated control plants. The giant cells of treated plants contained less of insoluble, polysacharides nucleic acids and proteins than those in untreated plants. The effect was more pronounced in the foliar spray treated plants than in those with soil drench. As the giant cells nurse the nematodes, the reduction in their metabolic activity, perhaps adversely affected the growth and development of the nematodes. The present study revealed that the antibiotic KT-199 has a potential to check the root-knot nematode damage in tomato plants.
Tomato, root-knot nematode, antibiotic KT-199, giant cell, foliar spray, soli drench
