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Single and interactive effects of root‐knot nematode and coal‐smoke on okra
Author(s) -
KHAN MUJEEBUR RAHMAN,
KHAN M. WAJID
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1994.tb03953.x
Subject(s) - meloidogyne incognita , terra incognita , horticulture , abelmoschus , root knot nematode , dry matter , biology , nematode , botany , agronomy , chemistry , ecology
summary Effects of coal‐smoke pollutants and the root‐knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita race 1, singly and jointly, were investigated on okra, Abelmoschus esculentus in 1988 and 1989. Plants in clay pots were placed at two sites (Kl and K2), 1 and 2 km away from the stack of a coal‐fired thermal power plant, and also at the Department of Botany, AMU (control site). The mean concentrations of SO 2 , NO 2 and suspended particulate matter (SPM) were 141, 76 and 309 μg m −3 at K1, and 184, 93 and 205 μg m −3 at K2, but the concentrations of the pollutants at the control site were very low. Okra plants at the K2 site showed browning of the leaves, whereas injury was mild at Kl, The intensity of the browning and the impact of nematode disease was appreciably higher in the infected plants at the polluted sites in both the years. The plants grown at the two sites exhibited suppressions in plant growth, yield and photosynthetic pigments, particularly at K2. M. incognita at the control site also caused significant reductions, but joint effects of the nematode and coal‐smoke were synergistic. Nematode reproduction was enhanced at K1, hut was unaffected at K2. Egg laying was reduced by 13 and 27% a1 Kl and K2, respectively. The response of stomata and trichomes to air pollutants was negative and positive at the two sites, respectively, and stomatal opening was directly correlated with the percent suppressions in dry matter production, yield etc.