2026/01/01 by Victor Hugo Moura de Souza, Mário Massayuki Inomoto, Sérgio Florentino Pascholati · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Nematode management and characterization studies #Plant Disease Management Techniques #Growth and nutrition in plants
paper · doi:10.1590/3085-89092026328
openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/07/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/21
Abstract: Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is widely consumed and among the most exported fresh fruits of Brazil. Despite substantial production, this crop is limited by several factors, notably the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, for which few management tools are available. In our work, we assessed the host status of ten different melon genotypes, from which we selected ‘Asturia’ for subsequent biocontrol experiments. We then evaluated the efficacy of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Pochonia chlamydosporia (i.e., Rizotec®), and Purpureocillium lilacinum twice against M. incognita, and, finally, we conducted a dose–response experiment using Rizotec® to determine its performance across application rates. All genotypes were susceptible. Regarding biocontrol, P. lilacinum significantly reduced nematodes per gram of root when applied once, compared with two applications for P. chlamydosporia. Regarding dose-response, increasing doses presented a strong negative correlation with final population size, with the EC50 estimated at 0.84 plant-1. In addition to reducing the nematode population, dosages also increased fresh weight, fruit weight, and stem diameter at themiddle and top of the plant. However, they only did so in the inoculated plants.Pochonia chlamydosporia (i.e, Rizotec) represents a potential strategy for the management of M. incognita and should be integrated with additional management practices to enhance its efficiency.