Corn and Sorghum as Rotational Crops for Management of Meloidogyne arenaria in Peanut

Abstract

The value of corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) as rotational crops for management of Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) was studied in two 3-year experiments. The experiments were conducted in a field near Headland, Alabama, and compared several rotational systems with the performance of continuous peanut. At-plant applications of ethylene dibromide (EDB) were included in some of the systems to determine the value of nematicide use in the rotations. Corn and sorghum reduced juvenile populations in soil; however, the populations recovered quickly when peanut followed either of the 2 other crops. The use of EDB to control M. arenaria in a continuous peanut system was not reliable; yield differences between fumigated and unfumigated plots under continuous peanut culture, while significant during the first year, were not so after 3 years. Highest peanut yields were obtained from plots that had been planted with corn or sorghum