3RD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON TECHNOLOGY - ENGINEERING & SCIENCE - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia (2017-02-09)

Identification And Management Of Nematode Species Prevailing In Tobacco Nurseries In Buttala, Sri Lanka

The Root Knot Nematodes (RKN) infects Tobacco (Nicotiana tabaccum) and cause substantial reduction in crop yield and quality. A study was carried out in a tobacco fields naturally infested by RKN at Buttala during the period from April to July 2015 to identify the plant parasitic nematode species and investigate the efficacy of four botanicals; poultry manure, Tricoderma harzianum, grinded neem seed, tobacco waste, and three chemicals; Carbofuran, Metham Sodium, Calcium hypochlride and steam sterilizaion for the control of root knot nematodes. By estimating root knot count, the suppression of RKN was examined under field condition. Results proved that the nematode species belongs to Meloidogyne javanica, and steam sterilization method suppressed the RKN to a considerable low number. All the treatments showed similar performance for the vegetative parameters. Even though steam sterilization method showed the suppressing of RKN, practically the implementation is difficult. Therefore, the second best treatment (Metham Sodium) found to be the most appropriate and practical methods to be applied.
Keywords: Tobacco, Root Knot Nematodes, Meloidogyne Sp.,
Nuwan Weerawansha, Maheshika Wimalasuriya