Section of Nematology, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore-641 007.
Changes in enzymes and free amino acids of sugarcane roots infected by lesion nematode, Pratylenchus zeae, were investigated. It was found that polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase, ascorbic acid oxidase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, cellulase. protease and acid phosphatase increased in the P. zeae inoculated roots as compared to the control. However glutamate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase remained unchanged while ribopuclease decreased in the inoculated roots. In the control plant roots, seven amino acidswere identified while the inoculated roots contained nine amino acids.
