Organic Crab Shell Chitin-Mediated Suppression of Root-Knot Nematode, Meloidogyne arenaria in Groundnut

An experiment was carried out under glasshouse conditions to determine the effect of organic crab shell chitin amendment on growth of groundnut challenged with root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne arenaria and on population of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes. Soil application of chitin promotes plant growth to the tune of 67.25% and also increased the yield of groundnut up to 56.25% compared to control. Soil amended with chitin has recorded less number of galls per plant. The number of galls per plant was negatively correlated with accumulation of total phenols and activities of chitinase and peroxidase. Chitin amendment not only reduced the soil nematode population but also enhances the soil microbial activity up to 234.55%.