Vol.3, No.6, 844-847 (2012) Agricultural Sciences
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/as.2012.36102
Comparative study of Fusarium oxysporum f sp.
lycopersici and Meloidogyne incognita race-2 on
plant growth parameters of tomato
Safiuddin Ansari1*, Sheila Shahab1, Mohd. Mazid2, Dania Ahmed1
1Section of Plant Pathology and Nematology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India;
*Corresponding Author: [e-mail]
2Section of Plant Physiology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
Received 16 June 2012; revised 20 July 2012; accepted 8 August 2012
ABSTRACT
Many species of soil-inhabiting fungus Fusa-
rium, cause severe yield loss in many crops.
Experiments were conducted in net house con-
dition with complete randomized blo ck design to
determine the individual effect of different in-
oculum levels of root-knot nematode, Meloi-
dogyne incognita, Race-2 and Fusarium ox-
ysporum f sp. lycopersici on plant growth pa-
rameters viz., Plant length, fresh and dry weight
and number of fruits of tomato var. P21. The
experimental results showed that both the path-
ogens cause significant reduction in plant growth
parameters. However, the fungus was not much
effective on plant growth parameters in com-
parison to root-knot nematode. Greatest reduc-
tion in plant growth parameters was recorded in
plants inoculated with 8000 J2/kg soil of Meloi-
dogyne incognita race 2. The threshold level of
root-knot nematode was 1000 J2/kg soil while
threshold level of Fusarium was @ 1 g/kg soil.
Inoculum level of Fusarium oxysporum f sp. ly-
copersici and Meloidogyne incognita race-2 was
pathogenic and caused significant reduction at
and above 1 g/kg soil and 1000 J2/kg soil re-
spectively.
Keywords: Fusarium oxysporum f sp. lycopersici;
Meloidogyne incognita Race-2; Tomato and
Threshold Level
1. INTRODUCTION
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is the most
important tropical vegetable crop and is widely used
throughout the world. It is a native of Andes region of
South America. Tomato occupies second position amongst
the vegetable crops in terms of production. The total
production of tomato in the country in 1998-1999 was
8.27 MT from an area of 0.46 Mha. Tomato, as one of
the vegetable crops and fruits, is very important in hu-
man nutrition Abubakar [1]. Fruit of tomato is rich in
Vitamin A, B and C Janes [2].
Plant parasitic nematodes cause serious problem in
various crops. Lamberti [3] reported that the root-knot
nematode cause highest suppression in production of
tomato ranging from 10% Taylor [4] to 80% Siddiqi [5].
Four species (Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita, M.
hapla and M. arenaria) of r oo t -knot nema t ode s are m ajo r
pests worldwide while another seven being important on
a local basis, Eisenback and Triantaphyllou [6]. Root-
knot nematodes spend maximum time of their active
lives within plant roots feeding on host cells, Williamson
and Hussey [7]. The infective stage secondstage juv enile
(J2) penetrates through the root and migrates to a site
near the vascular tissue.
Reduction in yield due to root-knot nematodes (Meloi-
dogyne spp.) in tomato range from 28% to 68% Adesiyan
et al. [8] and 40% to 46%, Bhatti and Jain [9], Reddy
[10].
The tomato crop is affected by several fungal patho-
gens and Fusariums sp are essentially so il borne, Berkley
[11], Horsfall [12]. The fungus Fusariums oxysporum f
sp and lycopersici cause wilt disease in tomato crop.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
The important pathogens viz., root-knot nematode
(Meloidogyne incognita), root-rot fungus (F. oxysporum f
sp. lycopersici) and an important host plant, tomato, was
selected for the present study.
2.1. Isolation and Incubation of Fungus
The tomato plant infected by fungus Fusarium was
collected from field and brought in laboratory. Fusarium

S. Ansari et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 844-847 845
was isolated from roots and collar region of infected to-
mato plant. Infected part was cut into pieces (5 cm each)
sterilized with sodium hypochlorite (5%) solution for 2
min and rinsed 3 time with sterile water for removal of
traces of sodium hypochlorite solution. Sterilized and
rinsed pieces were then transferred on petriplates filled
with sterilized PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) Medium in
laminar flow. After transfer on PDA it was incubated in
BOD at ±26˚C for fifteen days. Fungus was inoculated
on Czapek medium and identified morphologically, Bur-
gess et al. [13] and Rahjoo et al. [14]. Pathogen icity test
was carried out for the identification of race of Fusarium
oxysporum f sp. lycopersici.
2.2. Raising of Fungus Culture and Maintain
of Inoculums
Fungus culture was raised on Richard’s liquid medium
(Magnesium sulphate: 0.25 g, Potassium dihydrogen pho-
sphate: 5.00 g, Potassium nitrate: 10.00 g Potato starch:
10.00 g, Sucrose: 50.00 g, Distilled water, 1000.00 ml)
Riker and Riker [15] in BOD at ±26˚C for fifteen days.
Inoculums were prepared by mixing 10 g mycelial mat
with 100 ml of distilled water in warring blender.
2.3. Isolation and Preparation of Nematode
Inoculum
Root-knot nematode M. incognita was isolated from
the infected roots of tomato plant. Nematodes were ex-
tracted by Petridish assembly method by Chawla and
Prasad [16]. Monoculture of root-knot nematode, Meloi-
dogyne incognita race 2 was maintained on tomato plants.
Pure culture was multiplied and after processing the
number of larvae per ml, suspension was counted before
inoculation. The counting of nematode @ per ml of sus-
pension was done with the help of especially made
counting dish under the microscope. The species/race
was identified by using perineal pattern determination/
differential host range test Hartman and Sasser [17] be-
fore use.
The experiment was conducted under net house condi-
tions in the Department of Botany Aligarh Muslim Uni-
versity Aligarh (AMU) India during the year 2011.
Throughout the course of studies, 6 clay pots containing
1 Kg sterilized soil + river sand + farm yard manure
(3:1:1) were used and arranged in randomised complete
block design and five replicates of each treatment were
made and an untreated plant was served as control. The
plants were watered regularly. The experiment was ter-
minated after 45 days and plant growth parameters were
observed in terms of Plant length, fresh weight, dry
weight, number of fruits and fruit weight. Data obtained
were analysed statistically at P = 0.05 and P = 0.01%.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Inoculums level of fungus Fusarium oxysporum f sp.
Lycopersici 0.25 g and 0.50 g/kg soil showed no signifi-
cant reduction in plant growth parameters viz. Plant
length, fresh and dry weight, number of fruits and fruit
weight. However, the plants inoculated with inoculum
levels 1.0 g - 8.0 g/kg soil showed significant reduction
in plant length (66.5 - 63.1 cm), fresh weight (179.1 -
174.8 gm), dry weight (33.3 - 29.3 g), number of fruits
(13.7 - 10.5) and fruit weight (234.6 - 225.0) respectively.
Similarly plant inoculated with 250 to 500 J2/kg soil of
Meloidogyne incognita race-2 showed no significant
reduction in plant growth para meters while plants inocu-
lated with 1000 - 8000 J2 show ed significant reduction in
plant growth parameters viz., Plant length (63.8 - 58.8
cm), Fresh weight (178.3 - 164.4 g), dry weight (31.7 -
23.6), number of fruits (11.8 - 8.1) and fruit weight (230.3 -
216.8) as compared to control (Uninoculated) Table 1.
Tabel 1. Effect of different inoculum levels of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita race 2 on plant growth parameters of to-
mato.
Length (cm) Fresh wt. (gm) Dry wt. (gm)
Treatments Shoot Root Total Shoot Root Total Shoot Root Total
No. of
fruits Fruit weight (gm)
250N 49.1 24.7 73.8 138.6 62.2 200.8 25.2 13.3 38.5 17.7 267.2
500N 48.3 23.9 72.2 134.9 60.6 195.5 23.7 12.5 36.2 15.3 266.8
1000N 42.4 21.4 63.8 124.4 53.9 178.3 19.2 12.5 31.7 11.8 230.3
2000N 41.5 20.8 62.3 128.2 52.4 180.6 18.5 11.7 30.2 10.4 227.2
4000N 40.4 20.3 60.7 120.1 50.6 170.7 15.9 9.4 25.3 9.3 220.6
8000N 39.5 19.3 58.8 117.1 47.3 164.4 14.7 8.9 23.6 8.1 216.8
Control 49.8 25.2 75.0 141.3 63.5 204.8 26.1 13.6 39.7 19.2 268.8
LSD at 5% 5.26 16.25 2.45 1.20 21.20
LSD at 1% 7.78 23.03 3.41 1.69 28.14
Value are mean of five replicates.

S. Ansari et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 844-847
846
Table 2. Effect of different inoculum levels of fungus, Fusarium oxysporum, f sp. lycopersici on plant growth parameters of tomato.
Length (cm) Fresh wt. (gm) Dry wt. (gm)
Treatments Shoot Root Total Shoot Root Total Shoot Root Total
No. of
fruits Fruit wt. (gm)
0.25F 49.6 25.0 74.6 140.9 63.3 204.2 25.4 13.4 38.8 18.4 268.2
0.50F 49.2 24.6 73.8 140.2 62.9 203.1 24.6 13.0 37.6 16.6 267.3
1.00F 43.5 23.0 66.5 123.9 55.2 179.1 21.1 11.2 33.3 13.7 234.6
2.00F 43.9 22.3 66.2 125.0 53.2 178.2 20.6 10.9 31.5 12.2 230.8
4.00F 42.0 22.3 64.3 122.4 53.1 175.5 19.7 10.4 30.1 11.1 227.1
8.00F 42.2 20.9 63.1 122.6 52.2 174.8 19.2 10.1 29.3 10.5 225.0
Control 49.8 25.2 75.0 141.3 63.5 204.8 26.1 13.6 39.7 19.2 268.8
LSD at 5% 5.44 16.94 2.22 1.28 22.54
LSD at 1% 8.03 24.25 3.71 1.80 30.01
Values are mean of five replicates.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
Repr oductionfactor‐
Nu mberofGall/ro otsystem‐
Tre atmen ts
Figure 1. Reproduction factor and Number of galls/root system induced by different inocu-
lum levels of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita race 2 on tomato plants. T1 =
250 J2 of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita race 2; T2 = 500 J2; T3 = 1000 J2; T4
= 2000 J2; T5 = 4000 J2; T6 = 8000 J2.
Fusarium species is most important and soil borne
disease of tomato Jones et al. [18] and Smith et al. [19].
Fungal pathogen can surv ive in soil for several years and
cause infection in plants, Walker [20] Holiday [21].
Plants treated with M. incognita race 2 showed greatest
reductions in plant growth parameters in comparison to
plants treated with Fusarium oxysporum f sp. lycopersici
(Table 2).
A significant linear relationship was found between
the initial population (Pi) and the final population (Pf) of
M. incognita race 2. The multiplication of root-knot
nematode significantly reduced with the increase in the
inoculum levels. The reproduction factor was highest
(16.6%) at the minimum inoculums level 250 J2/kg soil
and lowest (2.6%) at the maximum inoculum level 8000
J2/plant. Thus, the rate of nematode multiplication show ed
a declining trend with the increase in th e initial inoculum
level suggesting it to be a density depending phenome-
non (Figure 1). Higher multiplication rate for low initial
population and low multiplication rate in high initial
population was observed. Same results were also ob-
served by Brker et al. [22], Di Vito and Ekanayake [23]
and Haseeb et al. [24]. It can be concluded from these
results that the damaging threshold levels of M. incognita
race 2 on tomato was found to be as 1000 J2/kg soil while
threshold level of fungus, Fusarium oxysporum f sp. Ly-
copersici, was 1 g/kg soli (Table 1 and Figure 1) .
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