Evaluation of salicylic acid as a systemic resistance inducer against meloidogyne incognita on tomato cv. Co3

Salicylic acid is a natural phenolic compound present in many plants and is involved in induction of pathogenesis related proteins in various crops including tomato. Root dip and foliar application of salicylic acid on tomato cv. Co3 @ 50, 100 and 200 ppm affected the development of the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, and significantly increased plant height (82.6 cm), root length (16 cm), shoot weight (95.8 g), and root weight (13.5 g) at 90 days after transplanting. Among the different methods of application of salicylic acid (SA) treatments, highest reduction in number of galls/plant, number of egg masses/plant, and soil nematode population, was obtained with two foliar sprays of 200 ppm SA, compared to untreated control.