Integrated control of root-knot disease in three crop plants using chitin and Paecilomyces lilacinus

Paedlomyces lilacinus, a rhizospherc inhabiting nematophagous fungus, along with chitin was evaluated in sterilized soil for the suppression of Meloidogyne incognita, causal agent of root-knot disease in Solanum melongena, Lycopersicon esculentum and Cicer arietinum. The soil was subjected to various treatments. The plant growth after 30, 60 and 90 days was assessed in terms of shoot and root length, shoot and root fresh and dry wt. and number of galls/g root fresh wt. Combination of fungus with chitin enhanced suppression of Meloidogyne incognita more than using them alone.