~ 1693 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2020; 8(3): 1693-1701 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 www.entomoljournal.com JEZS 2020; 8(3): 1693-1701 © 2020 JEZS Received: 28-03-2020 Accepted: 30-04-2020 Navjot Bawa Department of Plant Pathology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Sukhjeet Kaur Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India NK Dhillon Department of Plant Pathology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Corresponding Author: Sukhjeet Kaur Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Integrated management of root knot nematode , M. incognita in capsicum , using Paecilomyces lilacinus and organic amendments Navjot Bawa, Sukhjeet Kaur and NK Dhillon Abstract Pacecilomyces lilacinus bio-formulations were evaluated for their efficacy to manage root knot nematode in capsicum. Three bio-formulations of P. lilacinus were tested in pot experiment and the best formulation was then integrated with farm yard manure (FYM) and neem cake for evaluation in the nematode infested soil under net house and open field conditions. The observations were recorded on plant growth parameters and disease indexes. Pot experiment showed that P. lilacinus 1.50% WP (Liquid) formulation was most effective against root knot nematode and hence was taken to field. In field trials, application of P. lilacinus enriched neem cake @1 t/ha and FYM@ 2.5t/ha as split application at transplanting and 30 days after transplanting was found most effective reducing root galling by 44.52% under net house and by 50.60% under field conditions. Single application of P. lilacinus enriched neem cake @ 1 t/ha and FYM @ 2.5 t/ha at the time of transplanting also reduced root galling by 41.60% in net house and 45.51% under field conditions. Application of P. lilacinus enriched neem cake and FYM was found effective in reducing the damage caused by root knot nematode and can be used for managing this pathogen in an eco-friendly manner. Keywords: Root knot nematode, Paecilomyces lilacinus, Capsicum annuum, neem cake, FYM, integration Introduction Capsicum, Capsicum annuum L., commonly known as ‘Bell pepper’ or ‘Shimla mirch’ is a highly remunerative vegetable crop cultivated open as well as protected cultivation in most parts of the world including temperate regions of Central and South America and European countries, tropical and subtropical regions of Asian continent [39] . Plant parasitic nematodes are reported to cause severe crop losses in Capsicum sp. [41, 26, 22] . Root-knot nematodes of genus Meloidogyne are at the top among the five major plant pathogens and the first among the ten most important genera of plant parasitic nematodes in the world [27] . The genus Meloidogyne comprises of over hundred species of which most crop damaging are Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria and M. hapla [20] . They have wide geographic distribution, large host range and high destructive potential. Capsicum crop is often attacked by root knot nematodes and suffer considerable yield losses [16] . Extent of damage and loss however, depends on the initial nematode population density at the time of planting [6] . Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood is one of the major limiting factors affecting the production of Capsicum in India [29, 19, 1] . Estimated yield loss up to 20 per cent in capsicum has been reported due to M. incognita in India [40] . In addition to direct damage, these nematodes predispose the plants to soil borne bacteria and fungi and thus play important role in root rot and wilt disease complexes [15] . Management of these nematodes is difficult due to their soil borne nature and wide host range. The yield losses are mainly caused due to buildup of inoculum of the nematode and repeated cultivation of same cultivars in the same land every year [18] . The use of most of the chemical nematicides have been banned because of their harmful effects on mankind and environmental degradation, which caused the scientist to search for the safer means to manage these nematodes involving soil amendments with organic amendments, botanicals and biological control agents [31, 35, 36, 14, 25] . But the use of biocontrol agents as an alternative strategy to control root knot nematodes is getting more and more important as they can be easily integrated with other management strategies [38, 23, 24] . Now a day number of commercial bio- formulations containing different bio-agents are becoming available in the market against