Pakistan Journal of Phytopathology

Published by:
Pakistan Phytopathological Society
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Pak. J. Phytopathol.,
Vol. 23(2):152-155, 2011.

RESPONSE OF SIX EGGPLANT CULTIVARS TO MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA

Zia Ullah, S. A. Anwar, N. Javed, S.A. Khan, M. Shahid*
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
* Plant Pathology Research Institute, Faisalabad.
ABSTRACT
An experiment was conducted to find out the host status of six eggplant cultivars against root knot nematode
(Meloidogyne incognita) infection. The seedlings of cultivars namely Bemissal, Nirrala, Purple Queen, Qaiser,
VRIB-9901 and VRIB-0401were transplanted in earthen pots containing sterilized soil. Each treatment was
replicated five times. Fifteen days after the transplantation, plants were inoculated with 2000 freshly hatched J 2
of M. incognita. The nematode inoculated plants were allowed to grow for 60 days and then harvested. Plants
and roots were washed carefully in tap water. The root galling and egg masses were assessed on 0 to 5 scale and
J2 root population was assessed. All the six cultivars were found susceptible based on rate of reproduction of
nematodes. VRIB 0401 showed maximum number of galls with galling index of 5 and egg masses with egg mass
index of 5 being most susceptible one while Nirrala was found to be less susceptible with minimum number of
galls with galling index of 4 and egg masses with egg mass index of 4. None of the cultivar was found resistant
to M. incognita.
Keywords: Eggplant, Meloidogyne incognita, resistance.
(Dhawan and Sethi, 1976; Netscher and Sikora, 1990;
Anwar et al., 2007b; Anwar and McKenry, 2010).
The nematode root infection renders plants unfit to
absorb water and nutrients and other essential
elements from soil leading to poor plant growth and
yield losses (Gowen et al., 2005; Hollis, 1963).
This investigation was planned to find the host status
of six eggplant cultivars against M. incognita
infection.

INTRODUCTION
Brinjal or eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a low
priced and one of the most commonly grown
vegetable crop in Pakistan. The area cultivated under
this crop was 9000 hectares with production of 89000
million tons in Pakistan which stands at 18th position
in world ranking (FAO, 2007). It contains sufficient
amount of vitamin A and B and also has medicinal
value as it is good for diabetic patients. There are
various ways to utilize this vegetable, such as fried,
baked, grilled or steamed. Dilnasheen, Qaiser, Purple
Queen, Cluster king, Bemissal, and Nirrala are
important commercially grown varieties in Pakistan.
There are several plant parasitic nematodes that cause
pathogenic problems on vegetables in Pakistan. Four
species of root knot nematode namely, Meloidogyne
incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria, and M. hapla
have been recorded (Maqbool, 1986). M. incognita is
a major pest of vegetables all over the world
particularly in Pakistan (Williamson and Hussey,
1996; Anwar et al., 2007b). It stands out as the
dominant group of plant parasitic nematodes in
India (Mehrotra, 1983) also the most widespread and
economically important in Punjab (Anwar et al.,
2007b; Anwar and McKenry, 2010). On global basis,
M. incognita has been reported to constitute about
47% of the total root-knot nematodes population
(Sasser and Carter, 1985). The occurrence of this
species was found to be 85.10% in Punjab (Anwar et
al., 2007b) with frequency of (76%) of this nematode
infection in Faisalabad (Khan and Ahmad, 2000).
Eggplant is severely damaged by M. incognita

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seeds of eggplant cv. i.e. Bemissal, Nirrala, Purple
Queen, Qaiser, VRIB-9901 and VRIB-0401 provided
by Vegetable Research Institute Faisalabad were
planted in seedling trays. Twenty one-day-seedling
was transplanted in 4 inches dia earthen pot
containing formalin sterilized soil. Each treatment
was replicated five times. Plants were allowed to
recover from transplanting shocks for 15 days.
Fifteen days after transplantation, the plants were
inoculated with 2000 freshly hatched J 2 of M.
incognita in 10-ml of water by pouring around each
plant by making three holes. The pots were arranged
on green house bench in a completely randomized
design. Irrigation was done daily throughout the
period of studies. Green house temperature ranged
between 25-35C. Growth of plants was observed
regularly. After 60 days, plants were harvested from
the pots and their roots were gently washed in tap
water, dump-dried and weighed. Root systems of the
plants were gently cut from the stem and the
parameters including number of galls and egg masses

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per root system, galling index, egg mass index, root

weight, final J2 population.were recorded. Galling
and egg mass indices were assessed on 0-5 scale,
where 0 = no galls/ egg masses, 1 = 1-2 galls/ egg
masses; 2 = 3-10 galls/ egg masses; 3 = 11-30 galls/
egg masses; 4 = 31-100 galls/ egg masses, and 5 = >
100 galls/ egg masses per root system (Quesenberry
et al., 1989). Roots were stained with Phloxine-B to
assess the presence of egg masses (Holbrook, 1987).
The rate of reproduction was calculated by dividing
the final population by initial inoculum (2000 J2).
Statistical analysis: Data were subjected to ANOVA
and significant differences among the means was
partitioned by Duncan's multiple range test at P=0.05
(Steel et al., 1997).

Although all the six eggplant cultivars were found to

be susceptible but the infection was variable among
the cultivars. It indicates that these cultivars vary in
genetic make up (Brian et al., 2010). We have
planned to collect the wild germplasm of eggplant to
screen against M. incognita infection to find the
resistant genes so that it can be transferred to
commercial growing cultivars.
This investigation has demonstrated that all the
commercially grown cultivars are susceptible. On the
other hand the root knot nematode has become one of
the most serious problems for sound production of
eggplant (Anwar et al., 2007b). This suggests that
growers should avoid planting of egg plants in the
previously nematode infected fields. It is also
recommended that such field should be planted with
non host crops like cereals before planting the egg
plants.
REFERENCES

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Meloidogyne incognita produced variable number of
galls on roots of all six eggplant cultivars. Data
showing the number of galls and egg masses per root
system, galling and egg mass indices, root weight,
final population and reproduction rate recorded on six
eggplant cultivars is presented in table 1. The
comparison of all cultivars on the basis of these
parameters indicated that none of the cultivar was
resistant against M. incognita infection. Purple Queen
showed maximum number of galls (180) with galling
index of 5. The number of galls produced by VRIB0401 and Bemissal were not significantly different
from Purple Queen, 177 and 166 respectively with
galling index of 5. There was also no significant
difference between Qaiser (115) and VRIB-9901
(130) showing 5 galling index. Nirrala carried lowest
number of galls (91) with galling index of 4, which
was significantly different from all other cultivars.
Maximum number of egg masses were also observed
in VRIB- 0401 (223) with egg mass index of 5,
which was not significantly different from Bemissal
(210) and Purple Queen (215) with galling index of 5
for each. Nirrala showed minimum number of egg
masses (92) with egg mass index of 4 very close to
the number of egg masses produced by Qaiser (102)
with egg mass index of 5. Root weight was
maximum in VRIB- 0401 and minimum in Nirrala
and there was significant difference of root weights
among all cultivars. Final J2 population observed in
VRIB 0401 was maximum and hence highest rate of
reproduction of M.incognita which was significantly
different from all other cultivars. The rate of
reproduction of M .incognita on Bemissal and Purple
Queen were not significantly different. Nirrala
showed significantly different final population and
rate of reproduction of M .incognita as compared to
all other cultivars and proved to be least susceptible.

Anwar, S. A., N. Javed, A. Zia, M. Kamran, M.

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Table 1. Reproduction of root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita on six eggplant cultivars
Cultivars

Galls

Galling
Index*

Egg
Masses

Egg Mass
Index*

Root
weight
(g)

Final
population
(pf)

Rate of
reproduction**

Host Status

VRIB-0401

177a***

223a

22.51a

Susceptible

130ab

154ab

45.50a
34.91d

45023a

VRIB-9901

5
5

41869b

20.94b

Susceptible

Bemissal

166a

210a

38.47c

43053ab

21.52ab

Susceptible

Nirrala

91b

97b

5.83d

Susceptible

181a

5
5

215a

20.52f
41.15b

11662d

Purple Queen

4
5

44105ab

22.05ab

Susceptible

Qaiser

115ab
102b
5
30.25e
38784c
19.39c
Susceptible
*Gall/egg mass scale: 0-5 scale; where 0 = no galls/egg masses, 1 = 1-2 galls/ egg masses; 2 = 3-10 galls/ egg masses; 3 = 1130 galls/ egg masses; 4 = 31-100 galls/ egg masses, and 5 = > 100 galls/ egg masses per root system.
** Rate of reproduction = pf/pi
***Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other at P = 0.05 according to Duncan Multiply
Rang Test.

154

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