Alginate films for assessment of parasitism of Meloidogyne incognita eggs in soils treated with organic amendments

Alginate films containing Meloidogyne incognita eggs were used to evaluate the effect of organic amendments on parasitism of nematode eggs in treated soils. A total of five greenhouse experiments were conducted. In experiment s one through four, alginate films impregnated with M. incognita eggs were placed into soils amended with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g/kg dried foliage of velvetbean (Mucuna deeringiana) and kudzu (Pueraria lobata), pine bark or paper waste. In the fifth experiment, the soil was amended with urea-N a t rates of 0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.45, 0.60, 0.75, and 0.90 g/kg. To determine the percentage of parasitism of root-knot nematode eggs in each individual sub strate, microscopic observations were made at 0, 5, and 10 weeks after trea tment. Most rates of velvetbean, kudzu, pine bark, and paper waste increase d the percentage of parasitism on M. incognita eggs between 5 and 10 weeks after treatment. The percentage of parasitism in soils treated with 0.30 to 0.75 g urea-N/kg soil was significantly improved, but only at 10 weeks aft er treatment.