Induction of tomato plants resistance to Meloidogyne incognita infection by mineral and nano-fertilizer

Nutrients are vital for plant growth as well as disease severity and control. Utilization of nanotechnologies in agriculture sectors is expected to be the ideal material to enhance plant resistance after perception of specific biotic or abiotic signals commonly referred to as induced resistance. Three mineral and nano-fertilizer particles were examined for their efficacy as a soil amendment in controlling the root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita on tomato in a greenhouse trial. A randomized complete block design layout was used for 9 treatments with 5 replications. Each plant was inoculated with 1,000 M. incognita eggs. Undoubtedly, the utilization of three fertilizers as mineral or nano-particles on tomato plants cv. Giza 86 under the stress of M. incognita infection significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced the number of galls and egg masses as well as enhanced plant growth criteria. The application of nano-fertilizers was more effective than mineral ones. The nano fertilizer Zn oxide was the most effective treatment among all the treatments.   Key words: Disease severity, Meloidogyne incognita, nano-fertilizer, tomato, resistance.