Antinemic activity of plant extracts against Pratylenchus coffeae infecting banana

Fresh leaves of Abutilon indicum, Azadiracltta indica, Calotropisprocera, Cassia auriculata, Crotalaria juncea, Datura stramonium, Prosopis juliflora, Tridaxprocumbens, Vitex rtegundo and Xanthium indicum were dried and the prepared extracts were tested against the root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae infesting banana. In the preliminary study almost all the plant species exhibited nematicidal activity ranging from 20.7 to 96.5 per cent mortality at 24 hr exposure period. The best 3 plant extracts viz. A. indica, C. juncea and V. negundo were further diluted at 20, 40,60 and 80 per cent concentration and tested. A. indica exerted 73.4 per cent mortality of P. coffeae when exposed to 20 hr in the 80 per cent concentration of leaf extract followed by 76.4 and 64.8 per cent mortality with respect to V. negundo and C. juncea. No mortality was recorded in distilled water.