Observations on the hatching of eggs laid by females of different age of the root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica

Abstract

An experiment was undertaken to investigate the hatching pattern of eggs laid within 48 h by single females of different age of the root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica. Three groups of females, young, middle aged and old were used. To obtain the eggs, root pieces of tomato containing a single female were used. The females were deprived of their egg masses and the root pieces transferred to small sieves immersed in water, inside watch glasses, and incubated in the dark at 25 °C for 48 h for the females to lay new eggs. The batches of new eggs were incubated at 25 °C and the hatching test continued for 24 days. No more eggs hatched during a further 14-day incubation period. Between 93 and 98% of the eggs hatched and there was no indication that a high percentage of eggs laid by old females were in diapause.