Abstract
Pot studies on the effects of methionine (Met) and fungivorous nematode, Aphelenchus avenge (Aa) on plant growth and pathogens' propagation in tomato-Meloidogyne incognita (Mi)-Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fo) pathosystem were carried out using a multi-factor factorial experiment design of 24. Regarding interactions between Met and Aa on pathogens' propagation and their damage to tomato plant, a synergistic effect was detected for final populations of Mi juvenile and an interference effect for Fo densities 49 days after planting, but there were no evident interactions for root-knot index or number of fallen leaves that were affected most by Fo treatments. Interactions between Met and Aa on tomato-growth-characters were evident for the dry root weight only but not for the shoot length, shoot weight, number of flowers or total fruit weight. Met as such significantly (p≥0.05) contributed to reduce the Mi juvenile population and root-knot index 70 days after planting and Fo densities for both 21 days and 49 days after planting. Fruit weight was significantly improved (p<0.05) by Met treatment when the soils were inoculated with Mi. Aa alone did not contribute significantly to the improvement of tomato growth, Fo and Mi control or root-knot index. Results led to the conclusion that the combined application of Met and Aa may be impractical for the simultaneous control of Mi and Fo on tomato.
