Potent nematicidal activity of phenolic derivatives on Meloidogyne incognita

The present study describes the nematicidal activity of ten selected phenolic derivatives using the root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, model. Nematicidal activity was then correlated with the anti-oxidant power. The highest nematicidal activity was recorded for p-nitrophenol followed by m-nitrophenol, o-nitrophenol and p-bromophenol, with an EC50 after 1 day of immersion of about 0.70 ± 0.64, 8.14 ± 5.49, 15.79 ± 10.81 and 25.92 ± 11.37 μg/ml, respectively. The structure-activity relationship indicates that the nitro-group at position 4 on the phenolic ring (p-nitrophenol) is very important for nematicidal activity, followed by that at position 2 (o-nitrophenol) and position 3 (m-nitrophenol). p-Nitrophenol showed the highest nematicidal activity with the corresponding lowest anti-oxidant activity of about 97 ± 20 μg/ml. In conclusion, these findings suggest that phenolic derivatives could be considered as potent nematicidal agents and be integrated in the pest-management system.