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Influence of two species of water ferns, Azolla caroliniana and A. pinnata as soil amendments against Meloidogyne javanica infecting tomato in Egypt.

Abstract

The effect of dry materials of Azolla caroliniana and A. pinnata on controlling Meloidogyne javanica on tomato cv. Super Strain-B was carried out under greenhouse conditions 25±5°C. The treatments were applied at the rates 25 and 50 gm of dry materials of each species / pot. Application of A. caroliniana and A. pinnata succeeded in reducing the development and reproduction of M. javanica and improved the plant growth when compared with those of the check. A. pinnata was more efficient in reducing number of nematode stages based on galls, egg-masses, females, developmental stages in roots, as well as, number of juveniles in soil per plant at both rates as compared with A. caroliniana did. Also, the growth of tomato plants was affected due to the application of azolla. Addition of azolla to the plant soil caused remarkable increase in all plant growth parameters.The higher dose was more effective than the lower one. However, A. pinnata resulted in increasing the plant growth much more than A. caroliniana.

Ahmed El-Sayed Ismail, Abbas Mohamed Kheir

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