The Effects of Soil Salinity and Meloidogyne javanica on Tomato
Maggenti, A.R.; Hardan, A.
Journal of Nematology 5(4): 231-234
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-300X PMID: 19319341 Document Number: 66949
In pot tests of tomato in salinized soil of ECe = 0 to 16 mmhos/cm, vegetative growth steadily declined with increased salinity in the absence of nematodes, but in the presence of Meloidogyne javanica there was no significant change in top growth between 4 and 12 mmhos/cm. The nematode population level had dropped to half at salinity of 4 mmhos/cm but remained essentially constant up to 16 mmhos/cm. In both infected and non-infected plants there was an abrupt decrease in top and root weight at 4 mmhos/cm followed by a recovery at 8 mmhos/cm. It appears that nematodes may accentuate or ameliorate the effects of other edaphic factors on the plant. Tomato plants were grown in a non-saline sandy loam salinized to a conductivity of 4-16 mmhos/cm and inoculated with M. javanica. Plant height in non-inoculated soil declined as salinity rose, but in inoculated soil it changed little between 4 and 12 mmhos/cm. Root weight was greater on infected plants in non-salinized soil and in soils of 10-14 mmhos/cm, partly owing to gall development.