Management of Meloidogyne incognita and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Disease Complex on Tomato by Trichoderma harzianum, Tinopsora longifolia and Glomus fasciculatum

In a two year survey, the root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita and root wilt fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici was found to cause disease complex resulting in heavy damage to tomato crop. Several saprophytic fungi viz. Aspergillus niger, A. terreus, A. fumigatus, Cladosporium oxysporum, Penicillium oxalicum and Trichoderma harzianum were found associated with the rhizosphere soil. Of these, Aspergillus species exhibited high toxicity (89–100%) to second stage juveniles (J₂) of M. incognita but were not egg-parasitic. C. oxysporum was ineffective against J₂ but parasitized the eggs by 86%, while T. harzianum was effective against juveniles and eggs of M. incognita by 80% and 72% respectively. The synergistic effect of M. incognita and F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in causing disease complex on tomato was established. Soil amendment of vasicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (Glomus fasciculatum) @ 100 chlamydospores per kg soil and T. harzianum @ 7 g kg⁻¹ (2 x 10⁸ spore load) as talc based formulation along with leaf-powder (0.05%w/w) of Tinospora longifolia managed the disease complex by reducing its severity and making the host tolerant.