Effect of an Ovi-parasitic Fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus Samson on Meloidogyne incognita in Tomato

A glass house study was conducted to ascertain the effect of Paecilomyces lilacinus an egg parasitoid against the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in tomato. Different inoculum levels of fungal culture multiplied on pounded sorghum grains at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 g and 100 M. incognita females were inoculated near collar region of tomato plants after (planted in one kg sterile soil) one week of transplanting. The different doses of P. lilacinus on M. incognita population in tomato showed a positive correlation between the inoculum level of P. lilacinus and the plant growth characters. Maximum enhancement in shoot length (72.66 cm), shoot weight (42.66 g) and root length (36.66 cm) was recorded in the treatment that was inoculated with 10 g fungal inoculum/kg soil and highest reduction in soil nematode population, galls/plant and egg mass/g root was also recorded in this treatment. A significant increase in the yield of tomato (396.66 g/plant) was again recorded in the treatment which received maximum fungal load (10g/kg soil) as compared to control (210 kg). A positive correlation was evidenced between plant health and yield whereas a negative correlation exist between nematode multiplication and yield of fruits.