Bionematicides in sugarcane planting

Integrated control of Meloidogyne incognita in tomatoes using fluopyram and Purpureocillium lilacinum strain 251

Summary There is a growing interest in the use of natural products for crop production and protection. Humic acid is a well-known bioresource that intensifies soil functions and improves crop productivity. This review article provides a synopsis of the humic acid-plant-nematode association and the prospects for using humic acid as an alternative to chemical control of nematodes. Humic acid is known to have toxic and antagonistic effects against many plant-parasitic nematodes, including Meloidogyne spp., Rotylenchulus reniformis , Radopholus similis and Helicotylenchus multicinctus . The required dose for getting significant nematode control ranges from 0.04 to 2.0% concentration. Delivery methods like soil application or drenching, seedling root dip treatment and foliar spray on leaves are effective for nematode control. Humic acid controls plant-parasitic nematodes through various mechanisms including killing juveniles, inhibiting hatching, reducing nematode infectivity and reproduction, and inducing systemic resistance. Humic acid is compatible with bio-inoculants such as Azospirillum spp., phosphobacterium, Bacillus megaterium , Pseudomonas fluorescens , Trichoderma viride , Glomus spp., Pochonia chlamydosporia , Purpureocillium lilacinum and T. asperellum . These attributes of humic acid show a promising potential for use in nematode control. However, further work on bio-efficacy against a broad spectrum of plant-parasitic nematodes is needed.

Screening of locally available organic materials as substrates for production of Pochonia chlamydosporia in Kenya

Biological control of root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, in vitro, greenhouse and field in cucumber

Commercial exploitation of the coffee crop is one of the most important activities in the world’s agricultural sector. One of the main phytosanitary problems affecting the crop is the presence of Meloidogyne incognita. Several measures have been tested for the management of this pathogen, albeit with low efficiency. The objective of this work was to quantify the damage and losses and to manage M. incognita race 1 with Pochonia chlamydosporia and Trichoderma harzianum biological nematicides, comparing them to a chemical nematicide. The experiment was carried out in a commercial area naturally infested by the nematode and cultivated with the conilon coffee variety ‘Vitória INCAPER 8142’, clone V02. The treatments were tested with Carbofuran nematicide and with biological nematicides composed of P. chlamydosporia Pc-10 and T. harzianum ESALQ 1306. The biological products were applied alone or in combination. The lowest NPF (final nematode population) occurred in plants treated with P. chlamydosporia and Carbofuran. P. chlamydosporia was the most effective biological agent in the management of M. incognita. There was a reduction in production with an increase in the nematode population. The highest application costs of management methods for M. incognita race 1 per hectare were for three and two applications of Carbofuran and three applications of P. chlamydosporia + T. harzianum. The treatments with lowest application costs were one application of T. harzianum and one application of P. chlamydosporia. It was concluded that all treatments were efficient for the management of M. incognita race 1, causing a decrease in the roots and soil population.

This study objectified to determine the effect of the ripeners, ethephon, trinexapac ethyl, sulfumeturon metal, fluazifop-p-butil and glyphosate, over technological quality and sugarcane yield. The experiment was carried out in ratoon cane, (RB86 – 7515 genotype) at Santa Antonina Farm, in Sertãozinho County, São Paulo State, in 2007 agricultural year. The experimental design used was randomized complete block with four replications. Treatments tested were constituted by: glyphosate at 0.40 L ha-1, sulfumeturon-methyl 20 g ha-1, sulfumeturonmethyl 10 g ha-1 glyphosate + 0.20 L ha-1, fluazifop-p-butyl 75 mL ha-1, trinexapac-ethyl 0.80 L ha- 1 , ethephon 0.67 L ha-1 and a check without ripeners application. Evaluations were made in the moment of application, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after products application (DAA). Application of all used products as ripeners promoted significant effect, in relation to the check, for sugar cane Pol characteristic, since the first period of evaluation (15 DAA) until the final (60 DAA). Plant height and ATR were modified by ripeners application inside evaluated periods. Fluazifop-p-butyl application stopped sugarcane growth. Yield was changed by ripeners applications in all evaluated periods. Fluazifop-p-butyl application increased yield immediately after application (15 DAA), however for the other periods, this treatment showed the lowest yield. Sulfumeturon-methyl, sulfumeturon-methyl + glyphosate and ethephon showed the best yield results from 30 and 60 DAA. ATR values were higher with glyphosate and fluazifop-p-butyl application.

Soil compaction, root system and productivity of sugarcane under different row spacing and controlled traffic at harvest

Understanding sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) response to multiple pest injury, sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis) and spittlebug (Mahanarva fimbriolata), is essential to make better management decisions. Moreover, the consequences of both pests on the sugarcane raw material quality have not yet been studied. A field experiment was performed in São Paulo State, Brazil, where sugarcane plants were exposed to pests individually or in combination. Plots consisted of a 2-m long row of caged sugarcane plants. Photosynthesis was measured once every 3 months (seasonal measurement). Yield and sugar production were assessed. The measured photosynthesis rate was negatively affected by both borer and spittlebug infestations. Photosynthesis reduction was similar on plants infested by both pests as well as by spittlebug individual infestation. Plants under spittlebug infestation resulted in yield losses and represented 17.6% (individual infestation) and 15.5% (multiple infestations). The sucrose content and the sucrose yield per area were reduced when plants were infested by multiple pests or spittlebug.

Guava decline is a complex disease resulting from the parasitism by Meloidogyne enterolobii (Me), which predisposes the plant to root rot caused by Fusarium sp. Three in vitro experiments were carried out with the aim of: (i) selecting the Fluensulfone dosage capable of causing Me mortality; (ii) verifying the effect of Fluensulfone on Pochonia chlamydosporia and Trichoderma harzianum; (iii) evaluating the effect of Pochonia chlamydosporia and Trichoderma harzianum in pure doses and in association with Fluensulfone on Me mortality. Fluensulfone at 2 L.ha-1 had no effect on fungi. The associated and pure doses of treatments had a significant effect on Me mortality. A field experiment was also carried out in a guava orchard where decline occurred. The following treatments were tested: Fluensulfone; P. chlamydosporia; P. chlamydosporia + Fluensulfone; T. harzianum; T. harzianum + Fluensulfone; Carbofuran, and control. All treatments reduced Me population, since relative efficiency was higher than 80%. Fluensulfone used alone or in combination with biological nematicides provided an increase in guava productivity. Maintaining Me population low in the field is an important option for increasing productivity and reducing the losses suffered by farmers.

The objective this study was to investigate the effect of use of Bacillus subtilis to control nematodes, considering the hypothesis that the efficacy and persistence of biological control is equivalent to chemical control with respect to the community of Meloidogyne spp. and Pratylenchus zeae in soil during the growth of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). For this study, soil was collected from cultivated area of sugarcane with a history of nematode infestation. The following treatments were established: control, B. subtilis (AP-3), B. subtilis (PRBS-1) and chemical nematicide (carbofuran). Evaluations of nematodes in soil were taken in intervals of 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days, respectively after planting. The application of B. subtilis in the soil caused the reduction of nematode reproduction factor evaluated in the soil, but also reduced the presence of nematodes in the final evaluation in the roots of sugarcane, similar to chemical treatment (carbofuran). In this study, it was concluded that biological treatment was equivalent to the chemical treatment on the efficacy of nematode control on sugarcane. The persistence of suppressiveness in Meloidogyne spp. and P. zeae provided by the treatments with B. subtilis and carbofuran was confirmed during the study. Key words: Pratylenchus, Meloidogyne, Saccharum spp., Bacillus, Carbofuran.

To ascertain the effectiveness of Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma harzianum, Pochonia chlamydosporia, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens against rice root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne graminicola, and to optimize their application methods. The relative effectiveness of five indigenous biocontrol agents (BCA) against M. graminicola on rice cv. PS-5 was tested initially in pot culture. The BCAs, A. niger, P. chlamydosporia and P. fluorescens proved more effective, and significantly reduced the nematode disease. It is hypothesized that success of a biocontrol module may vary with the BCA and application methods. Hence, the effectiveness of the above three BCAs as well as seven different treatment schemes were evaluated in naturally infested farmer's fields during 2 consecutive years. In nematode-infested plots without any BCA treatments, terminal galls formed on the roots, and plants suffered a 19-31% decrease in the growth and yield. The treatments with P. chlamydosporia or A. niger through root-dip (RD) plus one soil application (SA) at 15days after planting were found to be highly effective against the nematode. Relatively greater nematode control was achieved with RD plus two SAs (15+30DAP) but statistically the effect was on par with RD+one SA at 15DAP. These treatments significantly reduced galling (22-25%), egg mass production (21-29%) and reproduction factor (63-70%) of M. graminicola, and subsequently increased the grain yield (11-21%). Application methods enhanced the effectiveness of BCAs against M. graminicola. The RD plus one SA at 15DAP proved to be most effective treatment to control root-knot disease in rice. Use of multiple treatments (root dip and SA) appears cumbersome, but in view of effectiveness and limitation of chemical control in rice paddies, farmers may adopt the above module that may lead to 11-21% yield improvement.

Pochonia chlamydosporia applied via seed treatment for nematode control in two soil types

Timely and accurate estimates of sugarcane yield provide valuable information for food management, bio-energy production, (inter)national trade, industry planning and government policy. Remote sensing and machine learning approaches can improve sugarcane yield estimation. Previous attempts have however often suffered from too few training samples due to the fact that field data collection is expensive and time-consuming. Our study demonstrates that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data can be used to generate field-level yield data using only a limited number of field measurements. Plant height obtained from RGB UAV-images was used to train a model to derive intra-field yield maps based on 41 field sample plots spread over 20 sugarcane fields in the Udon Thani Province, Thailand. The yield maps were subsequently used as reference data to train another model to estimate yield from multi-spectral Sentinel-2 (S2) imagery. The integrated UAV yield and S2 data was found efficient with RMSE of 6.88 t/ha (per 10 m × 10 m pixel), for average yields of about 58 t/ha. The expansion of the sugarcane yield mapping across the entire region of 11,730 km2 was in line with the official statistical yield data and highlighted the high spatial variability of yields, both between and within fields. The presented method is a cost-effective and high-quality yield mapping approach which provides useful information for sustainable sugarcane yield management and decision-making.

This article presents a new model for forecasting the sugarcane yield that substantially reduces current rates of assessment errors, providing a more reliable pre-harvest assessment tool for sugarcane production. This model, called the Wondercane model, integrates various environmental data obtained from sugar mill surveys and government agencies with the analysis of aerial images of sugarcane fields obtained with drones. The drone images enable the calculation of the proportion of unusable sugarcane (the defect rate) in the field. Defective cane can result from adverse weather or other cultivation issues. The Wondercane model is developed on the principle of determining the yield not through data in regression form but rather through data in classification form. The Reverse Design method and the Similarity Relationship method are applied for feature extraction of the input factors and the target outputs. The model utilizes data mining to recognize and classify the dataset from the sugarcane field. Results show that the optimal performance of the model is achieved when: (1) the number of Input Factors is five, (2) the number of Target Outputs is 32, and (3) the Random Forest algorithm is used. The model recognized the 2019 training data with an accuracy of 98.21%, and then it correctly forecast the yield of the 2019 test data with an accuracy of 89.58% (10.42% error) when compared to the actual yield. The Wondercane model correctly forecast the harvest yield of a 2020 dataset with an accuracy of 98.69% (1.31% error). The Wondercane model is therefore an accurate and robust tool that can substantially reduce the issue of sugarcane yield estimate errors and provide the sugar industry with improved pre-harvest assessment of sugarcane yield.

Biological control is an alternative to chemical control of plant-parasitic nematodes. This is largely due to public demand for biologically-based and environment-friendly management options for safer pest control. Such demands have had an important impact on biological control research expansion and funding. However, the development of any strain of a biological control agent for nematode control requires many years of research, experimentation, validation and safe-use tests before the biological control agent becomes available to farmers or is further developed by industry as a commercial biopesticide or bionematicide. Biological control potential can be unconstrained when biological control agents are used in combination with compatible integrated pest management tactics, which may include some chemical products and other biological control agent-based products that are currently available on the biopesticide market. This chapter presents part of the history behind some of the initial studies that help to illustrate the scientific work carried out by the many scientists who laid the foundations and helped to develop Pochonia chlamydosporia as a viable, sustainable alternative to chemical control in the integrated management of plant-parasitic nematodes.