Efficacy of some antibiotics and sodium hypochlorite as antimicrobial chemicals in biological control studies of nematodes

Abstract

In-ultro experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), chloramphenicol and streptomycin sulphate on the parasitism of Meloidogyne jauanica eggs and growth of the nematode egg parasite, Paecilomyces lilacinus. The percentage of eggs exhibiting fungal parasitism, radial growth of P. lilacinus and mycelia dry weights of the fungus decreased significantly with increasing concentrations of NaOCl. The eflect of 0.5% NaOCI was not significantly different from the control. Chloramphenicol significantly inhibited egg parasitism and fungal growth less than streptomycin sulphate. Thus, streptomycin sulphate and 0.5% NaOCI may provide long-term antimicrobial protection in biological control studies without affecting the antagonistic potential and growth of fungal antagonists.