Nematicidal Activity of trans-2-Hexenal against Southern Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) on Tomato Plants

Abstract

Botanical nematicides have recently received increasing interest because of the high risks of some traditional nematicides to human health and the environment. This study evaluated the nematicidal activity of a plant volatile, trans-2-hexenal, against Meloidogyne incognita. This compound exhibited higher activity in a fumigation experiment than in the aqueous phase in vitro. Both in pot tests and in field trials, trans-2-hexenal showed significant efficacy against M. incognita while maintaining excellent plant growth, especially at doses of 1000 and 500 L ha, which were superior to that of abamectin at 180 g ha via hole application treatment but not significantly different from fumigation with 400 kg ha of dazomet. Furthermore, plants treated with 500 L ha trans-2-hexenal had fruit yields 20.2 and 45% greater than the control group. On this basis, trans-2-hexenal may be a potential alternative fumigation agent for controlling M. incognita on tomato crops.

Epigenetic Manipulation Induces the Production of Coumarin‐Type Secondary Metabolite from Arthrobotrys foliicola

“…Plant‐parasitic nematodes have caused severe damage to agriculture and forestry worldwide over the past few decades. It has been considered that plant‐parasitic nematodes cause more than $100 billion worth of losses to the global agriculture and trees annually ,,. Currently, the main strategy for controlling nematodes is based upon using the synthetic chemical agents combined with agriculture practice for the nematode management ,.…”

“…It has been considered that plant‐parasitic nematodes cause more than $100 billion worth of losses to the global agriculture and trees annually ,,. Currently, the main strategy for controlling nematodes is based upon using the synthetic chemical agents combined with agriculture practice for the nematode management ,. However, the chemical products have generated several problems such as the resistance to chemical nematicides, high risks to human health, and the environment pollution ,,,,.…”

Microbe‐induced plant volatiles

“…The effect of this volatile was the same as that of 400 kg ha −1 of the commercial soil fumigant Dazomet (Basamid ® ). The yields of plants treated with this plant volatile were 20% higher than those of the untreated control (Lu et al ., ).…”

“…3a). (E)-2 hexenal was successfully used as a fumigant nematicide under field conditions to control Meloidogyne incognita in tomato (Lu et al, 2017). The optimum dose was 500 l ha À1 .…”

“…The same volatiles could unexpectedly confer susceptibility against other pathogens; for example, (E)-2-hexenal suppresses root knot nematode infection in the field but induces susceptibility to P. syringae (Scala et al, 2013). However, a very high concentration of (E)-2-hexenal is needed to observe nematicidal activity (Lu et al, 2017). Furthermore, (E)-2-hexenal activates the JA pathway in Arabidopsis, which improves resistance against the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea but promotes susceptibility to P. syringae pv.…”