Management of Meloidogyne incognita in Solenostemon rotundifolius (Poir) Morton

A pot culture experiment was conducted at College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur to evaluate the efficacy of biocontrol agents, organic amendments and a nematicide against root-knot nematode infesting coleus var. Suphala. Among the organic amendments applied, incorporation of Tagetes erecta whole plant @ 250 g/pot was found to be the best treatment in improving the plant growth characters with less number of females (72.56%) and number of root-knots (80.28%). The yield parameters of the plant were enhanced by the combined application of P. fluorescens and P. lilacinus. The application of P. fluorescens + P. lilacinus recorded lowest nematode population in soil (41.00), root (131.20) and tuber (81.17) with 74.02, 58.55 and 61.31 per cent reduction in nematode population respectively over control. Soil application of P. lilacinus alone, neem cake, cartap hydrochloride 4G and incorporation of C. odorata leaves reduced population buildup of nematode and kept the infestation at a lower level.