Pesticide Research Journal

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the important vegetables in the world and is widely cultivated. Several Meloidogyne species are associated with tomatoes, which causes reduced tomato yield. Therefore, an investigation was conducted in (2022) at the Aquaculture Research Unit lab to evaluate the effectiveness of moringa (Moringa oleifera) application in controlling root-knot nematode in tomatoes. During a survey of the tomato field, M. javanica was identified from the rhizosphere soil samples. Leaf and fruit powder of moringa, along with a positive control (fenamiphos) and a negative control (tap water), were used to study their efficacy against M. javanica in root and soil. Seedlings of tomato were inoculated with 3000 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2s) of M. javanica in pot trials, with treatments comprising leaf and fruit powder of moringa in a series of concentrations. Fifty-six days after inoculation, the phytonematicide had reduced eggs and J2s in soil by 31 - 64%, gall number by 38 - 87%, and gall index by 29 - 83%. The efficacy for controlling root-knot nematode in tomatoes was not significantly different between the positive control and moringa leaf powder (P>0.05). The results showed that moringa leaf powder was the best treatment for controlling root-knot nematode in tomatoes.