Screening of Gerbera Cultivars against Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita

Aims: To find out the source of resistance against root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita in different gerbera cultivars and their evaluation.

Study Design: Completely Randomized Design.

Place and Duration of Study: Biswanath College of Agriculture, Biswanath Chariali, Assam during rabi season 2023.

Methodology: Suckers of six gerbera cultivars were planted in pots and were inoculated with freshly hatched second stage juveniles of M. incognita (1 J2/cm3 soil) fifteen days after planting.

Results: Upon observation 2 months after inoculation results showed that three cultivars viz. Pink Melody, Red Seven and Arka Krishika were recorded as susceptible with gall index 3.6, 3.6 and 3.4 respectively. Other three cultivars viz. Orange Sun Brust, Pride of Sikkim and Saffron were recorded as moderately resistant with gall index 3.0. Upon evaluation the cultivar Orange Sun Brut recorded maximum plant growth parameters followed by the cultivar Saffron and minimum plant growth parameters were recorded in the cultivar Pink Melody.

Conclusion: From this experiment it is concluded that no one cultivar found to be resistant against root-knot nematode. Three cultivars were found to be moderately resistant and others were susceptible. Moderately resistant cultivars can be planted in nematode infested areas as alternative to susceptible cultivars.