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ARET, Annual Report 2001, p. 145-7.

The effects of ground plant parts as bio-nematicides for the control of root-knot nematodes in potted tobacco

ANON.
ARET, Agricultural Research and Extension Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi
The objective of this experiment was therefore to evaluate ground plant-parts of Neem, Tithonia, Castor oil plants, Khaki bush and Sun Hemp as bio-nematicides for the control of root-knot nematode infections in tobacco. The leaves of Neem trees collected from Mafisi estate in Thyolo, of Tithonia from Ntcheu, of Khaki Bush, Sun Hemp and Castor oil plants from Kandiya were air-dried on Hessian sacks under the shed before they were ground in a mini-grinder to a coarse powder and stored in plastic containers before they were used. The plant-powders were thereafter analysed for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium at Kandiya Chemistry laboratory before they incorporated into soil. There were three level s of the powder, 40, 60 and 80 grams each of sun hemp, khaki bush, neem, Tephrosia and Tithonia. These quantities were mixed with 5 litres of soil that was previously treated with Methyl bromide before they were filled into in the 5 liter pots. Two control treatment pots with soil that was not mixed with the plant powder were used in the experiment. To measure the root volume, the roots were separated from the stem and the volume was measured by using water displacement method while plant height was measured by measuring the stems. Stem-diameter measurements were taken at the point where the stem separates from the root system. In addition to assessing the roots for root galls, the soil from each pot was processed to count nematode juveniles. Khaki bush at the highest rate of its plant powder controlled nematodes more than other plant powders at the same rate of application. This result was supported by the root volume per plant, which increased with increasing rate of application suggesting that the plants were healthy because they were not infected by the nematodes.