RESISTANCE OF VETIVER GRASS TO INFECTION BY ROOT-KNOT
NEMATODES (MELOIDOGYNE SPP)
(1996)
Lynette West1, Graham Stirling1, Paul Truong2
1
Plant Protection Unit, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, 80 Meiers Road,
Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068
2
Resource Management Institute, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, 80 Meiers
Road, Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068
Introduction
Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanoides) is well known for its tolerance to adverse soil conditions
and is used as a contour hedge to prevent soil erosion on steep slopes in some countries.
Anecdotal evidence also indicates that when grown adjacent to orchard trees for soil and
water conservation purposes, Vetiver appears to improve tree growth.
In Queensland, Vetiver grass is being used to stabilise soil on slopes in sugarcane and
pineapple plantations. Since root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) can be a problem on
both crops (Spaull & Cadet 1990, Caswell et al 1990), the status of Vetiver as a host of rootknot nematode was of interest. This work aimed to answer that question.
Materials and Methods
Two Vetiver varieties were screened for resistance against five root-knot nematode
populations. The populations are representative of the main genetic groups of Meloidogyne
in Australia and consist of four species (viz. M. arenaria, M. incognita [populations B1 and
B2], M. javanica and M. hapla). They were identified using DNA technology (Hugall et al
1994). The two Vetiver varieties used were Monto, a sterile selection, and a non-sterile type
from Western Australia. The test plants were grown in the glasshouse in 200 mm pots in a
sterile sand mix. Once they were established, five replicate plants were inoculated with
D:\106755332.doc
10,000 root-knot nematode eggs. A susceptible tomato cultivar (cv. Tiny Tim) was used as a
standard for comparative purposes. Plants were harvested 6 weeks after inoculation, when
egg masses on tomatoes were mature. Roots washed free of soil were immersed in a 1%
NaOCl solution for three minutes and eggs were collected on a 38m sieve and counted.
Results and Discussion
Both Vetiver varieties were highly resistant to all five root-knot nematode populations.
Reproduction was approximately 1000-fold less than on the susceptible tomato (Table 1).
Vetiver also compared favourably with other grasses that have been found to be resistant to
root-knot nematode in similar tests (Table 2).Our results confirmed those of de Moura et al
(1990) who found that Vetiver was “immune” to both M. incognita race 1 and M. javanica.
Conclusion
Since the grass was resistant to all major species of Meloidogyne, Vetiver is unlikely to
exacerbate problems caused by root-knot nematodes when used as a cover, companion or
hedgerow crop.
Table 1
Vetiver
cultivar
Monto
WA
Tomato
Mean number of eggs produced per plant when five populations of
Meloidogyne were inoculated onto Vetiveria zizanoides
Meloidogyne populations
Ma
%*
Mi (B1)
%*
Mi (B2)
%*
Mj
%*
Mh
%*
489
147
310110
0.16
0.05
238
15
274245
0.09
0.01
70
17
25228
0.28
0.07
1343
410
296100
0.45
0.14
464
23
105930
0.44
0.02
*Indicates the resistance status, determined by the number of eggs produced as a percentage
of the number of eggs on tomato.
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Table 2
Status of various grasses as hosts of root-knot nematodes, as indicated by
the number of eggs produced on the grass as a percentage of the number
of eggs on tomato.
Meloidogyne populations
M. arenaria
M. incognita (B1)
M. javanica
Susceptible
Maize:cv. FSS
cv.Hycorn 82
cv.SSC 38
Moderately Resistant
Maize:cv. H5
cv. XL80
Setaria:cv. Narok
cv. Solander
Panorama millet
Resistant
Forage sorghum:cv. Jumbo
Rhodes grass:cv. Callide
cv. Nemkat
Pangola grass
Panic:cv. Gatton Panic
cv. Riversdale Guinea
Vetiver grass:cv. Monto
cv. WA
-
34.1
24.7
24.0
26.5
58.6
11.4
-
4.9
1.9
9.1
0.1
8.3
2.1
6.4
2.7
0.5
3.0
0.8
1.7
2.9
0.00
0.08
0.00
0.32
0.01
0.34
0.09
0.01
1.22
0.07
0.00
0.04
0.00
0.01
0.03
0.00
0.01
0.36
0.16
0.05
0.09
0.01
0.45
0.14
3
References
Caswell, E.P., Sarah, J-L. and Apt, W.J. (1990) Nematode parasites of pineapple. In Plant
parasitic nematodes in subtropical and tropical agriculture (Eds M. Luc, R.A. Sikora
and J. Bridge), CAB International, London.
de Moura, R.M., de Oliveira-Regis, E.M. & de Moura, A.M. (1990) Reactions of ten plant
species, some producers of essential oils, in relation to Meloidogyne incognita race 1
and M. javanica parasitism in mixed population. Nematologia Brasileira 14 : 39-44.
Hugall, A., Moritz, C., Stanton, J. and Wolstenholme, D.R. (1994) Low, but strongly
structured mitochondrial DNA diversity in root knot nematodes(Meloidogyne).
Genetics 136 : 903-912.
Spaull, V.W. and Cadet, P. (1990) Nematode parasites of sugarcane. In Plant parasitic
nematodes in subtropical and tropical agriculture, (Eds M. Luc, R.A. Sikora and J.
Bridge), CAB International, London.
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