Reproduction of Meloidogyne incognita on eggplant rootstock cultivars and effect of eggplant rootstock cultivation on nematode population density

The southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita is an important pathogen of solanaceous plants worldwide. To assess resistance and suppressiveness to the nematode of the Japanese cultivars of eggplant rootstocks, we conducted greenhouse experiments. Numbers of nematode egg masses were significantly lower on Solanum torvum rootstock cultivars, Tonashimu, Torero, and Torvum vigor, than the cultivars of the other Solanum species after 45 days of cultivation. Next, we examined the effect of Tonashimu on the population density of the nematode in soil. After 116 days of cultivation, the second-stage juvenile density of the nematode in soil was reduced, and was significantly lower in pots of Tonashimu, than in those of Solanum melongena cultivars. These results suggest that the Japanese rootstock cultivars of S. torvum are resistant to the nematode, and could suppress nematode density in soil