Tests were conducted to determine efficacy of acrolein, ethylene sulfide, formaldehyde, and propylene oxide to control Meloidogyne incognita on tomato in three greenhouse trials and Rotylenchulus reniformis on cotton in a field trial. The chemicals were applied at rates of 100, 200, and 400 mg a.i./ kg soil and compared with the 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) standard at 120 mg a.i./kg. They were injected into soil contained in polyethylene bags, and the bags were sealed for four days. In the field trial, holes were made 20-cm-deep, the chemicals applied, and the holes were sealed with soil. At test termination, nematodes were extracted from 100 cm3 subsamples of soil and counted. Root-gall ratings were estimated on a 0-10 scale in the M. incognita greenhouse trials. Foliar weight of cotton in the field trial was recorded. In greenhouse tests, acrolein and formaldehype resulted in stunted and chlorotic tomato plants and were subsequently dropped from further testing. Ethylene sulfide and propylene oxide significantly reduced M. incognita juvenile soil populations and root galling in the three greenhouse tests. In the cotton field test, R. reniformis soil population densities were significantly reduced by the propylene oxide, ethylene sulfide and 1,3-D treatments compared to the nontreated controls. Foliar weight of cotton was increased significantly when using these chemicals. In these tests, ethylene sulfide and propylene oxide compared favorably in nematicidal activity to the 1,3-D nematicide standard.
