Efficacy of pesticides, neem seed powder and bio-control agents on Meloidogyne incognita and growth and oil yield of Mentha arvensis

Abstract

The pesticides carbofuran (1.5 mg a.i./kg soil) and carbendazim (1.0 mg a.i./kg soil), neem seed powder (50 mg/kg soil), the fungi Paecilomyces lilacinus and Trichoderma harzianum (50 mg culture/kg soil) and the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (50 mg/kg soil), alone and in various combinations (at half the standard dose) were tested for their effects on the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and growth and yield of Mentha arvensis cv. Gomti. All treatments improved plant growth, controlled the nematode and increased oil content and oil yield of M. arvensis. The greatest performance was achieved by applying carbofuran or neem seed powder, singly or in combination, followed by combinations of these nematicides with the two fungi or the bacterium. The effects of the three bio-agents were least when used singly and increased only a little when they were used in combinations.