Diseases of Horticultural Crops: Nematode Problems and their Management

P. Parvatha Reddy

Jul 2008 · Scientific Publishers

About this ebook

 Nematodes continue to threaten horticultural crops throughout the world, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Estimated overall average annual yield loss of the world's major horticultural crops due to damage by plant parasitic nematodes is 13.54%. Monetary losses due to nematodes on 10 horticultural crops, six of which are life sustaining were estimated at US$ 19.37 billion annually based on 1984 production figures and prices. These deleterious effects on plant growth result in reduced yields and poor quality of horticultural crops. Nematode management is therefore, important for high yields and quality that are required by the high cost of modern crop production.The information on nematode diseases and their management, especially crop wise, is very much scattered and there is no book which deals entirely with the above aspects on horticultural crops. This book deals with nematode diseases and their management in horticultural crops such as fruit, vegetable, orname-ntal, medicinal, aromatic, plantation, spice and tuber crops. Each nematode disease is described in adequate detail under the following heads: economic importance, crop losses, distribution, symptoms, hosts range, life cycle, races/ biotypes, host-parasite relationship, histopathology, ecology, spread, survival, interaction with other pathogens and management. The management methods presented includes regulatory, physical cultural, chemical, biological, host resistance and integrated approach. An entire chapter is devoted for sources of availability of critical inputs used for nematode management which would be very useful to the farmers. Very useful information on certain aspects of nematode management is presented in Appendix. The book is adequately illustrated with about 50 figures.
This book is a practical guide to practicing farmers of horticultural crops. Further, it is a useful reference to policy makers, research and extension workers and students. The material can also be used for teaching under-graduate and post-graduate courses.

About the author

 Dr. P. Parvatha Reddy obtained his Ph.D. degree jointly from the University of Florida, USA and the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Dr. Reddy served as the Director of the prestigious Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) at Bangalore from 1999 to 2002 during which period the Institute was honoured with "ICAR Best Institution Award". He also served as the Head, Division of Entomology and Nematology at IIHR. Dr. Reddy has over 237 scientific publications to his credit, which also include eight books on "Plant Nematology", "A Treatise on Phytonematology", "Integrated Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems", "Advances in IPM for Horticultural Cros", "IPM in Horticultural Crops: Emerging Trends in the New Millennium", "Organic Farming for Sustainable Horticulture: Principles and Practices" and "Integrated Nematode Management in Horticultural Crops". Dr. Reddy served as a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, New Delhi; the National Research Centre for Citrus, Nagpur and the Project Directorate of Biological Control, Bangalore. He also served as a Member of the ICAR Scientific Panel for Nematology, Member of the QRT to review the progress of AICRP on Nematodes and AINRP on Betelvine. He is the Honorary Fellow of the Society for Plant Protection Sciences, New Delhi. Dr. Reddy has been awarded with the prestigious "Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystem Award" by the Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems, Bangalore; "Prof. H.M. Shah Memorial Award" by Nematological Society of India, New Delhi and "Hexamar Agricultural Research and Development Foundation Award" by Plant Protection Association of India, Hyderabad.