The Effectiveness of Some Biostimulants Against Meloidogyne incognita in Tomato Plants

Abstract

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are common plant pathogens that cause significant yield losses, particularly in vegetable crops such as tomatoes. Due to the environmental impacts and legal restrictions associated with chemical nematicides, the development and evaluation of biological alternatives have become increasingly important. In this study, the efficacy of four biological products and one chemical nematicide against Meloidogyne incognita was evaluated through a pot experiment conducted under growth room conditions. The biological products used were Biostimulant-I (Oxydez Plus), Biostimulant-II (Ozark), Biostimulant-III (Konsorta Root), and Biostimulant-IV (Accudo). The chemical nematicide was Velum Prime SC 400, which contains the active ingredient fluopyram. The efficacy of the products was examined based on the root-knot index and second-stage juvenile (J2) population parameters in a 70-day growth room experiment. The results showed that the chemical nematicide provided the highest efficacy, by reducing the root-knot index by 67.08% and the J2 population by 87.67%. Among the biological products, Biostimulant-IV suppressed root-knot formation by 43.88% and the J2 population by 51.74%. Biostimulant-III, applied at a high dose, also showed a significant effect, reducing root-knot formation by 32.46% and the J2 population by 40.71%. In contrast, Biostimulant-I and Biostimulant-II showed lower levels of effect, reducing the root-knot index by 12.63% and 10.97%, respectively, and the J2 population by 21.57% and 24.34%, respectively. These findings suggest that biological products could serve as an alternative to chemical products in controlling M. incognita when supported by appropriate doses and application timings.

Keywords

• Root-knot nematode
• Meloidogyne incognita
• Biological control
• Biostimulant
• Nematicide

Domates Bitkilerinde Meloidogyne incognita’ya Karşı Bazı Biyostimülantların Etkinliği

Öz

Kök-ur nematodları (Meloidogyne spp.), özellikle domates gibi sebze türlerinde ciddi verim kayıplarına yol açan yaygın bitki patojenlerindendir. Kimyasal nematisitlerin çevresel etkileri ve yasal kısıtlamalar nedeniyle, biyolojik alternatiflerin geliştirilmesi ve etkinliğinin değerlendirilmesi giderek daha fazla önem kazanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Meloidogyne incognita’ya karşı dört biyolojik ürün ile bir kimyasal nematisidin etkinliği, büyüme odası koşullarında yürütülen saksı denemesiyle değerlendirilmiştir. Biyolojik ürünler Biostimulant-I (Oxydez Plus), Biostimulant-II (Ozark), Biostimulant-III (Konsorta Root) ve Biostimulant-IV (Accudo) olarak kullanılmıştır. Kimyasal nematisit ise fluopyram etken maddesi içeren Velum Prime SC 400’dür. Ürünlerin etkinlikleri, 70 gün süren büyüme odası denemesinde kök-ur indeksi ve ikinci dönem larva (J2) sayısı parametreleri esas alınarak incelenmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, kimyasal nematisidin kök-ur indeksini %67.08 ve J2 popülasyonunu %87.67 oranında azaltarak en yüksek etkinliği sağladığını ortaya koymuştur. Biyolojik ürünlerden Biostimulant-IV, kök-ur oluşumunu %43.88 ve J2 popülasyonunu %51.74 oranında baskılamıştır. Yüksek dozda uygulanan Biostimulant-III de sırasıyla %32.46 ve %40.71 oranlarında kayda değer bir etki göstermiştir. Buna karşılık, Biostimulant-I ve Biostimulant-II daha düşük düzeyde etki göstermiştir ve kök-ur indeksinde sırasıyla %12.63 ve %10.97, J2 popülasyonunda ise %21.57 ve %24.34 oranlarında azalma sağlamıştır. Bu bulgular, biyolojik ürünlerin uygun doz ve uygulama zamanlarıyla desteklenmesi durumunda M. incognita kontrolünde kimyasal ürünlere alternatif olabileceğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Kök-ur nematodu
• Meloidogyne incognita
• Biyolojik mücadele
• Biyostimulant
• Nematisit

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