Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by lovingmygarden, Jan 31, 2009.

  1. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Hi every one,
    I live in the dry tropics NQ(although it has been raining heaps for the last two weeks here). I grow lots of different fruit trees and my vegie gardens have vegies mostly year round. The soil is mainly sandy loam, which I have been incorporating plenty of organic matter into for the last two years trying to build it into healthier soil for my vegies. I have plenty of worms now, so I seem to be making some headway. My problem is I have root knot nematodes present and am wanting to know if anyone knows of some good plants that will help repel them (that will grow in our climate), or even any resistant types to grow (I mostly grow vegies, but i do have lots of fruit trees around the property too.. I do practise crop rotation, so hopefully that is minimising the problem, but I want to know if any one has any great ideas to help keep them at bay. I heard growing garlic is good, but it wont grow here, so do you think spreading garlic powder through the soil would help or would it just repel my lovely worms???? My last crop of tomatoes was very good, but I noticed they had RKN on their roots. I would like to jump on this problem as quickly as I can to prevent a bigger problem.
    I would appreciate any help I can get.
    Thanks heaps :)
    lovingmygarden
     
  2. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    g'day lovingmygarden,

    of course if they are non permanent season plants like vege' doing crop rotation will help also. but do some online research i have heard of a beneficial nematode to deal with those blighters.

    garlic and onion family will help as will growing marigolds and mulching them in, the best marigold is the weed called stinking roger, in a well mulched garden it is never likley to take over. if the issue is involving fruit trees get some garlic chives seed and throw heaps of that around under them along with the marigolds of course.

    len
     
  3. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Thanks Len,
    I will look oline and search out info on benaficial nematodes. I do grow marigolds, but I don`t hae them in the main gardens, soI will definitely grow them in there. I have actully discovered they grow extemley well here.The ones I have around my fruit trees are huge (probably due to all the lovely rain we`ve had, but I do dead head often too). Is stinking roger readily available??? I will see about getting some of that so I can grow it for digging in......thats great advise thanks very much.
    I will also break up my garlic chives and plant them all over to help out too.
    Thanks you very much Len
     
  4. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Root knot nematodes exist almost everywhere.
    If they are a problem and restricting the growth of your plants you need to encourage the growth of the "Wee Beastie" that eats root knot nematodes. It is a type of yeast-fungus that 'lassos' them and eats them !

    To encourage this particular "wee beastie" you need a warm, moist environment and sugar.
    That means you need at least 6" + of mulch (hay-straw, lucerne, sugar cane, or anything else you can get).
    You also need quite a lot of sugar to kick- start the yeast "wee beastie"and restore the soil balance. (+ water daily on the mulch of course)
    I can't give you precise amounts of sugar, but you can't overdo it. Maybe 2-400g to sq metre?

    Do not believe your local Government Agricultural advice people who tell you you have to sterilise your soil. This is rubbish. The above method will have you soil & plants going gang-busters within 12 months.

    This is a photo from
    https://www.killerplants.com/renfields-g ... 011107.asp
    of the Wee Beastie you want to encourage
    [​IMG]
    Other photos from
    https://www.cpes.peachnet.edu/nemabc/slide23.htm
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Nematode trapped in constricting ring of Arthrobotrys dactyloides (Hyphomycetes). Note unsprung trap.
    Photo by B. A. Jaffee


    This is the sort of damage you get to plant roots with root knot nematodes.
    All the roots have little knots or swellings on them pea-sized or sometimes bigger
    [​IMG]
    https://www.apsnet.org/Education/IntroPl ... efault.htm

    PS
    Tagetes are said to be good companion plants (as said above)
    Especially Tagetes minuta' (The 'minuta' must be some botanist's idea of a joke; as it grows 5-6+ feet high ')
    I know it grows wild in NSW and especially tropical Queensland
    [​IMG]
    BTW
    The Essential Oil from Tagetes minuta is used in men's fragrances and it worth about $400 a litre
     
  5. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    on the sugar side i remember now an organic grower in brissy used to water 1kilo' of mollasus into his beds, mixed it in a watering can.

    over the years i have had very little problem with the nematodes, not that i realy do rotational well nowhere near what they say either 4year or 6year plan we would be planting beside the spot they where in last season at best, i have only a couple of beds so each growing season the same stuff get grown in them, and this was when we had sandy loam soil, but we always use raised beds. we keep the beds heavily mulched with green type mulches ie.,. sugar cane and lucerne/pasture grass hays. we also feed the beds continuously we add in our rottable kitchen scraps daily as well as mulch the spent vege plants right where they once grew.

    so might be something to look at there as well?

    len
     
  6. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Thanks very much for your input, the sugar idea sounds feasible, I will definitely try that one. Any thing is worth a go. I have had such wonderful crops so far, I will try anything to keep my garden growing well. I would love to grow nearly all of my vegies this year......a big job ahead I know, but I love a challenge.
    Thanks again for you help I appreciate it alot. We have a cyclone warning here at the moment, it is expected to come in tommorrow, so hopefully it fizzes out, then I can start back in the garden and try these out.
     
  7. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Yes molasses is probably preferable to white sugar.
     
  8. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Well I have just read that molasses kills earthworms too!!!!! I love my worms,so I think I will have to hunt down some tagetes minuta and grow plenty of marigolds and garlic chives etc.
     
  9. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    That surprises me. What is your source for that info.?
    But anything can be a poison; what matters is the dose > Did you hear of the woman who died of drinking too much water in Britain a few months ago?
    https://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_goo ... harm_grass

    https://www.asapsupplier.com/product_inf ... cts_id/234

    https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2 ... worms.html

    https://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=941
     
  10. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    WOW!!! That is all great news. I got my info out of the new 'Successful Gardening In Warm Climates' book By Annette McFarlane of ABC`s Gardening Australia - Page 62. It just goes to show these people don`t know eveything.
    Thank you so very much for that information, I`m so glad I now know I can use mollasses, because I was thinking that would be my best hope. I will re-think my decision and use it as well as planting the other plants.
    Thanks Michaelangelica, you have been a wonderful help!!! :D
     
  11. stonethegardener

    stonethegardener Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Teaming with microbes also goes into quite a bit of detail about working with the existing soil fauna to defeat the stuff giving us these probs.
     
  12. AaronC

    AaronC New Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    The other approach that has yet to be mentioned is biofumigation.

    This involves growing a green manure and then digging it back into the soil to kill the nematodes, mustards are particular suitable for this task. They are quick growing, easy to propagate and relatively easy to source.

    Brassica juncea is a good choice, I have successfully used it to control nematodes in my veggie garden.

    See https://www.diggersgardenclub.com.au/pc-1265-36-mustard-bio-fumigant-50-sqm.aspx

    Good Luck :)
     
  13. lovingmygarden

    lovingmygarden Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Thanks Aaron,
    I have recently(about five months ago) dug in my first lot of mustard greens after reading about it in the diggers club and other books. It does seem to work too, I don`t seem to have a problem in that particular garden, so that will be used regularily too, thanks for the input.
    Lovingmygarden :D
     
  14. Michaelangelica

    Michaelangelica Junior Member

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    Re: Root Knot Nematodes HELP!!

    Molasses would be preferable to white sugar as it contains lots of trace elements. White sugar is cheap, works and is readily available. Some Indian farmers ONLY use sugar as a fertiliser as they cannot afford fertilisers. I am told this works well year after year.
    But, yes, crop rotation would be a good idea too.-- see last link on my recent post on pumpkins/nitrogen for a good article on this.
     

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