Effects of beneficial nematodes on plant-parasitic nematodes- Nematodeinformation
Several previous studies (Lewis and Grewal, 2005) have showed that beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes have a potential to control plant-parasitic nematodes that cause a severe economic damage to many economically important crops.
A recent study by Caccia et al (2013) also shows that the entomopathogenic nematodes such as Steinernema rarum and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora suppressed over 53% of reproduction of one of the most important plant-parasitic nematode, Nacobbus aberrans, which is a pest of many crops including potato, tomato etc.
These studies on interactions between beneficial nematodes and plant-parasitic nematodes suggest that the beneficial nematodes can serve as environmentally safe and health conscious alternatives to chemical nematicides to control plant-parasitic nematodes.
Literature
Caccia, M., Lax, P. and Doucet, M.E. 2013. Effect of entomopathogenic nematodes on the plant-parasitic nematode Nacobbus aberrans. Biology and Fertility of Soils 49: 105-109.
Lewis, E. E. and Grewal, P. S. 2005. Interactions with plant-parasitic nematodes. In: Nematodes as Biocontrol Agents (P. S. Grewal, R. U. Ehlers and D. Shapiro-Ilan, Eds.), CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK, 349-361.