Abstract:
Vegetables are infected by root
knot nematodes, especially Meloidogyne
incognita, which results in both quantitative
and qualitative losses. This study’s objective
was to assess the effectiveness of plant
extracts from Senna alata and Tamarindus
indica in controlling cabbage-infecting root
knot nematodes. The experiment was carried
out to determine the effect of aqueous and
powdered extracts of T. indica and S. alata on
the control of root knot nematodes in two
cabbage varieties. The test plants underwent
phytochemical screening. Data were gathered
on plant height, shoot weight, root weight,
yield and soil nematode populations. All
numerical data were subjected to analysis of
variance using the GENSTAT statistical
programme. Treating F1 Majesty and F1
Minotaur with powdered T. indica extract
resulted in a significantly better (p>0.05)
growth and yield (62.77 cm and 53.77 cm)
than the other treatments. Significant
variations were found between the shoot, root
and yield weights of treated plants and their
control counterparts. The positive control had
the highest number of galled roots in both
varieties (6.25 and 8.27). The treated plants
performed much better than the control
plants. The experiment also revealed some
compounds, such as hexadecanoic, butyric
and octadecadienoic acid. Based on this
study’s findings, it is advisable to make use of
these botanicals (T. indica and S. alata) on
root knot-infested farms, as they are cheap,
available and eco-friendly alternatives to
chemical nematicides, which are expensive
and not environmentally friendly.
