Managing Root-knot on Tobacco in the Southeastern United States

Root-knot nematodes suppress yields of flue-cured tobacco an estimated 0.1 to 4.8% annually in the southeastern United States, even though nematode management practices have been widely adopted. Although Meloidogyne incognita races 1 and 3 have predominated, M. arenaria, M. javanica, and M. incognita races 2 and 4 are increasingly important. Seventy-five percent of the flue-cured tobacco hectarage in North Carolina and Virginia is rotated on 2-year or 3-year intervals. Over half of the hectarage in the southeastern United States was planted with tobacco cultivars resistant to M. incognita races 1 and 3 in 1986. Resistance to other species or races of root-knot nematodes is not available in commercially available flue-cured tobacco cultivars. Most producers plow and (or) disc-out flue-cured tobacco roots and stalks after harvest. Nematicide use ranges from virtually 100% in Florida and Georgia to 60% in Virginia. Continued research is needed to develop management strategies for mixed populations of root-knot nematodes and to incorporate resistance to more root-knot nematode species and races into tobacco cultivars. Nematode advisory programs that allow producers to optimize nematicide use from an economical and ecological point of view are also needed.