IMPACT OF CERTAIN MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANT PRODUCTS ON Meloidogyne incognita INFECTING EGGPLANT UNDER GREENHOUSE CONDITIONS

Abstract

The impact of nine medicinal and aromatic plant products as ground-oilseeds i.e. fenugreek, arugula, coriander, celery and dill; and dried leaf powders i.e. peppermint, rosella, periwinkle and throne apple separately in comparison with oxamyl on M. incognita infecting eggplant cv. Black Long under greenhouse conditions, indicated that all tested materials obviously improved plant growth parameters of eggplant plants and significantly diminished nematode development and reproduction. Fenugreek as ground-oil-seeds application represented the maximum percentage increase values of plant length (54.3%), total plant fresh weight (177%), shoot dry weight (142.7%) and number of leaves/ plant (117.4%) whereas ground-oil-seeds of dill gave the least percentage increase values in this respect. However, peppermint as powder also represented the maximum increase values of ameliorating plant length (53.6%) , total plant fresh weight (158.4%), shoot dry weight (138.8%) and number of leaves / plant (108.7%), respectively, followed by that of rosella and throne apple whereas periwinkle showed the least values of the same plant growth criteria. Oxamyl ranked first and surpassed other tested applications in percentage increase values of the same plant growth criteria, respectively, and in diminishing nematode criteria with the lowest reproduction factor (RF) value of 0.37 vs 4.6 for nematode alone. Fenugreek treatment overwhelmed other tested ground-oilseeds in suppressing nematode population density (81.1%), root galling (92.8%) and eggmasses number (92.0%), followed by arugula application. However, the least values of the same nematode parameters was achieved by dill ground-oil-seeds treatment. Moreover, peppermint treatment also surpassed other tested dried leaf powders of medicinal and aromatic plants in diminishing final nematode population (80.5%), number of galls (84.0%) and eggmasses (86.7%), followed by rosella powder (78.1, 84 and 84.4%) for the same nematode parameters, respectively. However, periwinkle powder gave the relatively low value of final nematode population density (60.5%) but with high % reduction values of number of galls (80.0%) and eggmasses (82.2%) than of throne apple in the latter two nematode criteria, respectively. Treatments of fenugreek and peppermint products represented the lowest values of RF that amounted to 0.86 and 0.89 vs 4.6 for nematode alone, respectively.