Nematodes
Nematodes are small organisms whose size varies from 0.25 to 5 mm that inhabit most ecosystems (water, soil, plants, animals) a very peculiar characteristic to differentiate from other nematodes is the presence of the stylet they use to pierce cells ; inhabit the soil and within the plant tissues, mainly the roots, affect
plants causing metabolic disorders that lead to the manifestation of various symptoms such as dwarfism, delayed vegetative development, decreased yield, presence of galls on the roots and in some cases, the death of plants.
In general, phytoparasitic nematodes cause annual losses between 11 and 14% in economically important crops such as legumes, grains, bananas, cassava, coconut, sugar beets, sugar cane, potatoes, vegetables and various fruit trees, equivalent to US $ 157 million per year.
Plant parasitic nematodes are widely distributed in natural and cultivated soils throughout the world. The genus Meloidogyne is the most important due to its wide distribution, hosts and damage to crops causing galls on the roots, they also interact with fungi and phytopathogenic bacteria causing root diseases.
Today’s agriculture relies heavily on the use of chemicals for nematode control. Chemicals take immediate effect and can safely treat diseases or eliminate pests. However, these products have great disadvantages such as toxicity that affects human health when consuming chemically treated products. In addition, it damages the environment causing contamination that enters the food chain in the ecosystem.
Faced with this problem of serious contamination to the environment, the idea of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) arose to reduce the negative impact of chemical products. IPM is a way of maintaining crops so that disease and pest damage is below the economically acceptable level. IPM is a combination of various disease and pest control measures. Before taking control measures, it is essential to fix the situation of the crops to maintain plant health from the point of view of disease and pest prevention, from soil preparation, fertilization, irrigation, drainage, etc.
Innovative Concept
BIORRATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Currently there is a range of products for the control of nematodes, the traditional ones of chemical origin and the alternative ones that are friendly with the environment.Environmentally friendly products are known as biorationals that are of microbiological origin, microbial metabolites, and based on plant extracts, which have been extensively investigated in recent times.
Medicinal plant extracts such as basil, St. Joseph’s wort, linden, and mint have been studied to have nematicidal effects. Allelopathic effects of extracts of rice, barley, oats, rye, wheat have also been found, which control nematodes, fungi and phytopathogenic bacteria. There are other studies that evaluated the efficacy of Neem plants, silk cotton, tobacco, and cempazuchitl.
Of microbiological origin, a large number of species of fungi and bacteria have been studied, only a few have come to demonstrate their potentialities at the field level, such as bacteria: Pasteuria penetrans, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis; Trichoderma fungi, Pochonia chlamydosporia, have also been studied.
Another important microorganism is the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum (Paecilomyces lilacinus), one of the most studied fungi for the control of phytoparasitic nematodes, its choice is due to its characteristics: it controls phytonmatodes, mainly species of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne sp. that parasitizes eggs, adults and cysts of nematodes. It can also affect mobile nematodes that are outside the roots, so that it can infect any of these stages, causing death or preventing the nematode from completing its life cycle, thus reducing populations in the field. This fungus has the ability to survive in organic matter in the soil and is always present in the field, mainly in humid areas and where there is a lot of plague.
Products based on Paecilomyces lilacinus act against phytonmatodes as contact products. This fungus produces structures called conidia which are responsible for carrying out the effect on the nematodes. When these conidia make contact with the body of the nematode, they fixate on the external wall of the body of the nematode, then germinate and produce specialized structures, through which they penetrate into the body of the nematode, from which it takes its nutrients from the nematode and reproduces externally and internally by completely invading the body of the nematode, causing a disease that ultimately causes death.
When a formulation based on microorganisms is applied to the soil, an inoculum is being applied that must find the conditions in the environment to colonize and multiply. But there is a limiting factor is the availability of food for microorganisms, due to the great native microbiological diversity that competes for the available food.
We know that in the root it functions as an anchor for plants in the soil, as well as the absorption of water and nutrients, it also has other functions such as the exudation of compounds with biochemical activity. These compounds called root exudates are a source of food and signaling for the microorganisms that interact in the root.
Given the problem of microorganisms to establish themselves in the root, a biostimulant that induces root exudation has been studied, generating a large amount of compounds in the rhizosphere of crops. In this way, the greatest effectiveness of the establishment and colonization of microorganisms in the rhizosphere has been achieved.
In Innovak Global, it has a biorational product NemaRoot® that contains Paecilomyces lilacinus together with ExuRoot that is an inducer of root exudates, it has a better response effectiveness because it causes exudation and helps to establish and colonize in the rhizosphere, maintaining greater root activity.
ECCA Solutions
Bionematicide
WHAT DOES IT DO?
NemaRoot® controls populations of different genus of phytoparasitic nematodes (Meloidogyne sp, Pratylenchus sp, Helicotylenchus sp, Radopholus similis, Xiphinema sp, among others) favoring the generation of healthy roots.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
NemaRoot® is a biological nematicide formulated on the basis of conidia of the Paecilomyces lilacinus fungus that acts by parasitizing eggs, juveniles, adults and cysts of nematodes. NemaRoot® also induces the exudation of compounds that favor the colonization of the Paecilomyces lilacinus fungus and other native beneficial microorganisms that stimulate root development and activity.
BENEFITS
- Control nematode populations by keeping them below the economic threshold, avoiding explosive generation.
- The root is continuously protected once the fungus establishes itself in the rhizosphere.
- It does not generate resistance in nematodes.
- It is environmentally safe, which facilitates its handling and application.
Nematode populations in CFU / 100 cc of soil in the Saladette tomato crop under the Nemaroot® treatment (t1 treated), La Palma Navolato, Sinaloa, 2016.
Evaluation of chilaca pepper roots. A: Innovak treatment (Nemaroot®), Radigrow®, Nutrisorb®); B: Commercial treatment. Colonia Buena Vista, Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, 2018
Galling index at 30 ddt, in a study of the biological effectiveness of Paecilomyces lilacinus + ExuRoot for control of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in cucumber cultivation. Tlayacapan, Morelos.
| Treatment | X of % galling index by Meloidogyine incognita | Tukey (α= 0.05) | % de effective (Abbot) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Witness | a | ||
| P. lilacinus+ExuRoot | 1.0 kg/ha | b | 69.76 |
| P. lilacinus+ExuRoot | 2.0 kg/ha | b | 72.09 |
Global Notes
Chihuahua spearhead at the International Meeting for the Transfer of Sustainable Technologies for Agriculture.
*Innovak Global Chihuahuense company has influence in more than 20 countries.
Innovak Global, a Chihuahuan company dedicated to the agronomic sector, organized the International Meeting on Technology Transfer, “NUESTRAS RAICES” 2018, where more than 150 Technology Transfer Agents who work in more than 10 countries supporting various crops, gathered to know the world trends in the improvement of food production, as well as the results of studies for biostimulation from the root with the aim of contributing to the production of healthy crops in alliance with nature.
In his opening speech, Dr. Alberto Araujo, General Director of Innovak Global commented;
“Today we are visited by more than 150 experts on different topics and who are important personalities in their region. The event coincides with the 61st anniversary of Innovak Global and the opening of the “Luis Roberto Medina Vega” Research and Development Institute, our new facilities where we develop technologies that support them in the field. The congress we have today is important, not only because it shows what is behind the products, but also the technologies and their results in crops. This allows them to have a light that addresses the problems they face every day to obtain healthy food.”
With about 16 exhibitors in two days, relevant topics were presented such as biostimulation and its effects on crops, management of hormonal balance in vine with Ecca Carboxy formulations, the description of the mechanisms of systemic resistance in plants, among other topics . With speakers of international stature such as Dr. Surendra K. Dara, a researcher at the University of California from India who spoke about the impact of biostimulants on tomato health and yield, and Dr. Martin Heil, from Germany who spoke about the description of the resistance mechanisms of plants as a result of their research in the center of the country.
Innovak Global is the Chihuahuan company that organizes the International Meeting on Technology Transfer “NUESTRAS RAICES” 2018, internationally recognized for its extensive experience in biostimulation from the root, contributing to the production of healthy crops in alliance with nature, a leader in the development of biorational solutions focused on improving fresh food quality and crop productivity.
With a long history of more than 60 years in technical agriculture, Innovak Global conceives, develops and markets biostimulants that solve specific and critical problems of crops.
It is at the root where Innovak Global focuses its objectives, technology, and the philosophy shared with the farmer, of producing healthy crops with excellence, taking care of the health of the land and respecting the environment.
