Comparison of methyl bromide and other nematicides for control of nematodes in peanut

The efficacy of methyl bromide for control ofMeloidogyne arenaria and to increase yields of 'Florunner' peanut (Arachis hypogaea) was studied in a field at the Wiregrass Substation near Headland, Alabama. Methyl bromide was applied in the row at a depth of 35 cm using a subsoiler-bedder 2 weeks before planting at rates of 0, 34, 50, 67, 101, and 118 kg a.i./ha. Methyl bromide treatments of 67 kg a.i./ha or higher resulted in significant (P = 0.05) yield increases similar to those obtained in the same experiment with at-plant applications of aldicarb (2.2 kg a.i./ha), EDB (1.55 ml a.i./m row), or 1,3-D (5.10 ml a.i./m row). The relation between yield (Y) and methyl bromide rate (x) was described (R(2) = 0.97**) by the exponential function: Y = 2,302.963eb, where b = (- 1.901 - ln x)(2)/169.482. M. arenaria juvenile populations in soil in mid-August were too low to permit establishment of a relation between application rate of methyl bromide and size of the population.