Journal of Agriculture and Crops ISSN(e): 2412-6381, ISSN(p): 2413-886X Vol. 3, No. 2, pp: 17-24, 2017 URL: http://arpgweb.com/?ic=journal&journal=14&info=aims *Corresponding Author 17 Academic Research Publishing Group Potential Role of Aqueous Extract of Some Weeds against Egg Hatching and Juvenile Mortality of Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita Mohd Asif * Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Nematology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Moh Tariq Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Nematology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Amir Khan Section of Plant Pathology and Nematology Department of Botany Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh India Bushra Rehman Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Nematology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Kavita Parihar Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Nematology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India Mansoor A. Siddiqui Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Nematology, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India 1. Introduction Nematodes are small unsegmented, multicellular and pseudocoelomic worms live in water, soil, plants and animals. Plant parasitic nematodes are capable of reproducing over 2,000 species of plants [1] and are responsible for approximately 50% of overall damage [2]. Root–knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita is major plant parasitic nematodes affecting quantity and quality of the crop production in many annual and perennial crops, causing an estimated yearly crop loss of $100 billion worldwide [3]. Nematodes are difficult to control because of their wide host range and high rate of reproduction, with females capable of producing up to thousand eggs / female [4]. Plant– parasitic nematodes are recognized as the causes of serious yield losses on a wide range of crops [5]. Infected plants show typical symptoms including root galling, stunting and nutrient deficiency, particularly nitrogen deficiency [6]. Synthetic / Chemical nematicides is one of the most fastest and effective nematode control methods, but they are hazard to humans, environment and are relatively unaffordable to the average small scale farmers [7]. Moreover, the use of synthetic chemicals has also been restricted because of their carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, high and acute residual toxicity, ability to create hormonal imbalance, spermatotoxicity, long degradation period and food residues [8-11]. Therefore, it has become an important issue to find alternative control strategies, which are as effective as Abstract: Natural pesticides derived from plants are one of the best alternative approaches for the management of nematodes, as excessive use of chemicals eradicate beneficial organisms in the soil and disturb ecological equilibrium and ultimately cause environmental degradation. Six different weed plants viz., Achyranthes aspera L., Solanum xanthocarpum Schard. & JC wendl. Amaranthus spinosus L., Ranunculus pensylvanicus L.f., Cassia tora L., Oxalis stricta L. were collected from in and around the campus of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The nematode eggs and juveniles were exposed at 24, 48 and 72 h in different concentrations (S, S /2, S /10, S /100, S is the standard concentration and S/2, S/10, S/100 is the dilution of Standard solution) of weeds extracts. The plant extract of weeds S. xanthocarpum and A. aspera exhibited highly promising mortality (86-100%) after 72 h exposure period respectively, while the plant extract of O. stricta and C. tora exhibited minimum promising mortality (48-52%) after 24 h of exposure period respectively. There was a gradual decrease in egg hatching with an increase in the concentration of aqueous extracts of weeds. A. aspera, S. xanthocarpum and A. spinosus were found to be most effective in reducing egghatching and increase in mortality of second stage juveniles of M. incognita. Efficacy of treatments improved with increase in their concentration and exposure period. Hatching of larvae and juvenile mortality were strongly influenced by concentration of plants extract. Keywords: Egghatching, Juvenile mortality, Meloidogyne incognita, Plant extract.