Chemical control of nematodes in South Queensland pineapple fields

Abstract

The nematode complex associated with the Smooth Cayenne variety of pineapple in Queensland includes the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica (Treub), the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus brachyurus (Godfrey), the spiral nematode Helicotylenchus nannus Steiner and a ring nematode, Criconemoides ornatum Raski. In field trials on replant land in South Queensland, soil fumigation with DD, EDB and "N emagon" prior to planting or shortly afterwards reduced the nematode populations and increased the size of the fruit. When fumigants were injected around 7-month-old plants heavily infested with Meloidogyne javanica and Pratylenchus brachyurus there was a marked response to "Nemagon" (a yield increase of 9-18 per cent.), but not to EDB and "Vapam."