Integrated Management of Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in Cucumber under Protected Cultivation

Abstract

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the top ten most widely grown vegetables in the world, known for its high nutritional content, includes dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals and bioactive substances with antioxidant qualities. However, its quality and off-season production are significantly affected by the severe threat posed by root-knot nematodes in protected cultivation environment. This study evaluates the efficacy of African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and Silver hydrogen peroxide, alongside two fungal bioagents Purpureocillium lilacinum and Trichoderma viride as well as four bacterial bioagents Pseudomonas fluorescens, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pumilus, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens enriched with neem cake to assess their nematode-suppressive ability against RKN M. incognita. The goal is to develop an integrated management strategy for effective management under nematode infested protected structure conditions. The three years experiments in cucumber (cv. Kashi Nutan) grown under protected conditions results revealed that among the different treatments, treatment comprising of planting African Marigold at 45 days before sowing + Application of bio-agents (2 kg Purpureocillium lilacinum, 2 kg Trichoderma viride, 2 kg Pseudomonas fluorescens) enriched with neem cake (1 t/ha) + drenching bio-agent enriched with neem cake suspension 10% once in 10 days was found most effective by reducing final nematode population in soil (60.7%) and root population (58.2%) with least gall index (2.0) and recorded 21.6% increase in cucumber yield (9.2 t/ha) with maximum C: B ratio was 1:1.21 under protected conditions.  In summary, this integrated strategy proves to be an effective management module for suppressing RKN and ensuring safe cucumber production under protected cultivation environment.