Influence of rock dust-based soil re- mineralisation on root-knot disease of organic watermelon plants

Deplorable soil fertility characterising resource-poor agrarian communities remain a

major constraint for sustainable global food security. Re-mineralisation through appli-

cation of rock dust encourages maintainable productivity of degraded soils. This

study was planned to appraise the effect of rock dust on root-knot disease of

Citrullus lanatus caused by Meloidogyne incognita (Mi). The experiment was laid

out in Randomised Complete Block Design with three replications. Soil and root

populations of the nematode were estimated and galling damage of the crop was

diagnosed and censured at 60 days after inoculation. Additional data were collected

on vine length, number of leaves, days to 50% flowering and dry matter content.

Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and the means were separated

using least significant difference. The treated watermelon plants were low in root-

knot disease, significantly reduced Mi nematode populations and flowered far much

earlier ( p = 0.05) than the untreated organic watermelon plants.

Keywords: Citrullus lanatus; Meloidogyne incognita; non-chemical control; organic

farming

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