Evaluation of summer cover crops for host suitability of Meloidogyne enterolobii

The guava root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne enterolobii) has become one of the greatest enemies of agricultural production as current nematode management methods are not effective against this nematode. Summer cover crops can be an alternative solution for sustainable nematode management as they have a great potential to suppress nematode reproduction in addition to providing other usual benefits. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate ten commercially available summer cover crops against M. enterolobii. Sunflower and cowpea supported a high reproduction of M. enterolobii and had significantly greater biomass relative to the susceptible control (tomato cv. Rutgers). Buckwheat and sunn hemp had lower nematode reproduction but produced greater biomass compared to the susceptible control. Sesame supported significantly lower nematode reproduction and produced the lowest biomass among all cover crops employed in this study. Three millets (pearl millet, brown top millet and Japanese millet), grain sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass did not support any nematode reproduction and produced significantly higher plant biomass when compared with the control. Results from this study suggest that the three millets, grain sorghum and sorghum-sudangrass are promising summer cover crops for managing M. enterolobii.