Technical note. Root-knot nematode control in tobacco seedbeds

Abstract

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica (Treub) Chitwood is a serious pest of tobacco in Queensland. The results from these trials show that sterilization by burning either antbed or wood is still the most effective method of seedbed treatment for tobacco. Methyl bromide fumigation, which gave good control of both nematodes and weeds, may prove a satisfactory substitute. The seedlings from methyl bromide treated plots, however, were inferior in size to those from the burnt plots. The economic significance of this difference is now being studied in related seedbed and field trials.