Species composition and abundance of weeds in tomato fields with nematicidal potential against Meloidogyne incognita
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 298
File Views: 257
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Adiwena M, Murtilaksono A, Pradana AP, Parameswari AR, Putri D. 2025. Species composition and abundance of weeds in tomato fields with nematicidal potential against Meloidogyne incognita. Biodiversitas 26: 5891-5905. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) cause major crop losses worldwide, yet sustainable management options remain limited. This study assessed weed community structure in tomato fields and tested the nematicidal activity of dominant species. Quadrat sampling (1×1 m) recorded seven species from six families, with moderate diversity (Shannon-Wiener H?: 1.125), low evenness (E: 0.578), and high dominance (Simpson’s D: 0.470). Alternanthera philoxeroides was ecologically dominant (IVI: 72.0%; RD: 62.5%), while Eleusine indica and Cyperus rotundus were most frequent (RF: 23.8%). Aqueous root extracts (20% w/v) were tested in vitro, and proportion data were arcsine square-roots transformed and analyzed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s HSD test (?: 0.05). A. philoxeroides achieved the strongest egg-hatch inhibition (98.2±0.45% unhatched eggs at 168 h vs. 69.6±3.58% in control), while Cleome rutidosperma induced the highest J2 mortality (21.8±6.14%). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed 12 constituents in A. philoxeroides and 18 in C. rutidosperma. Key compounds included methyl palmitate, methyl oleate, and methyl linoleate in A. philoxeroides; and lauric acid, methyl palmitate, and 9,12-octadecadien-1-ol in C. rutidosperma. These phytochemicals are consistent with the observed suppression of egg hatching and juvenile survival. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Indonesia to explicitly link weed community diversity with in vitro nematicidal activity against M. incognita in tomato fields. By integrating ecological survey and bioassay data, this work demonstrates that naturally occurring weeds can serve both as indicators of agroecosystem health and as practical, locally available sources of botanical nematicides. The findings emphasize two major contributions: first, to nematode management through eco-friendly suppression of root-knot nematodes; and second, to biodiversity conservation by recognizing weeds as functional components of sustainable agroecosystems.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Abolusoro S, Izuogu N, Abolusoro P, Ige S, Adebiyi O. 2018. Toxic effects of bitter leaf powder (Vernonia amygdalina Del.) on root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) affecting tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Acad J Agric Sci 7 (6): 121-124. DOI: 10.15413/ajar.2019.0700.
Ahmad A, Yawar-Iqbal E, Siddiqui PJA, Sattar MA, Faizi S. 2025. Nematicidal potential of Ceriops tagal extracts and authentic compounds against cyst nematode Heterodera zeae. J Agric Food Chem 73 (28): 17550-17564. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c12064.
Akhter G, Zafar A, Khan W, Jamshed M. 2018. In vitro nemato-toxic potential of some leaf extracts on juvenile mortality of Meloidogyne incognita race-3. Arch Phytopathol Plant Prot 51 (7-8): 399-407. DOI: 10.1080/03235408.2018.1490238.
Asyiah IN, Mudakir I, Budiman A, Pradana AP. 2025. Media optimization for nematode-trapping fungus Orbilia jesu-laurae and its effect in managing Meloidogyne incognita. Cogent Food Agric 11 (1): 2442667. DOI: 10.1080/23311932.2024.2442667.
Bansal R, Bajaj A. 2003. Effect of volatile fatty acids on embryogenesis and hatching of Meloidogyne incognita eggs. Nematol Mediterran 31: 135-140.
Barbercheck ME, Wallace J. 2021. Weed-insect interactions in annual cropping systems. Ann Entomol Soc Am 114 (2): 276-291. DOI: 10.1093/aesa/saab002.
Beaumelle L, Auriol A, Grasset M, Pavy A, Thiéry D, Rusch A. 2021. Benefits of increased cover crop diversity for predators and biological pest control depend on the landscape context. Ecol Solut Evid 2 (3): e12086. DOI: 10.1002/2688-8319.12086.
Blaix C, Moonen AC, Dostatny D, Izquierdo J, Le Corff J, Morrison J, Von Redwitz C, Schumacher M, Westerman P. 2018. Quantification of regulating ecosystem services provided by weeds in annual cropping systems using a systematic map approach. Weed Res 58 (3): 151-164. DOI: 10.1111/wre.12303.
Boutagayout A, Bouiamrine EH, Synowiec A, Oihabi KE, Romero P, Rhioui W, Nassiri L, Belmalha S. 2025. Agroecological practices for sustainable weed management in Mediterranean farming landscapes. Environ Dev Sustain 27 (4): 8209-8263. DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04286-7.
Buzanini AC, Boyd NS. 2024. Effects of goosegrass (Eleusine indica) competition on strawberry growth and yield. Weed Sci 72 (6): 748-753. DOI: 10.1017/wsc.2024.68.
Castañeda-Ramírez G, Torres-Acosta J, Mendoza-de-Gives P, Tun-Garrido J, Rosado-Aguilar J, Chan-Pérez J, Hernández-Bolio G, Ventura-Cordero J, Acosta-Viana KY, Jímenez-Coello M. 2020. Effects of different extracts of three Annona species on egg-hatching processes of Haemonchus contortus. J Helminthol 94: e77. DOI: 10.1017/S0022149X19000397.
Catani L, Manachini B, Grassi E, Guidi L, Semprucci F. 2023. Essential oils as nematicides in plant protection: A review. Plants 12 (6): 1418. DOI: 10.3390/plants12061418.
Chapagain U, Chapagain BP, Nepal S, Manthey M. 2021. Impact of disturbances on species diversity and regeneration of Nepalese Sal (Shorea robusta) forests managed under different management regimes. Earth 2 (4): 826-844. DOI: 10.3390/earth2040049.
Cheimona N, Angeli C, Panagiotou E, Tzanidaki A, Drontza C, Travlos I, Bilalis D. 2016. Effect of different types of fertilization on weed flora in processed tomato crop. Agric Agric Sci Proc 10: 26-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.aaspro.2016.09.005.
Ciaccia C, Armengot-Martinez L, Testani E, Leteo F, Campanelli G, Trinchera A. 2020. Weed functional diversity as affected by agroecological service crops and no-till in a mediterranean organic vegetable system. Plants 9 (6): 689. DOI: 10.3390/plants9060689.
Claudius-Cole A, Okayi H, Wodoyin R. 2018. Potential of Cleome viscosa L. for the management of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita) in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench). Trop Agric 95 (4): 6-13.
Clements DR, DiTommaso A. 2022. Climate change and the persistence of weeds. In: Upadhyaya MK, Clements DR, Shrestha A (eds). Persistence Strategies of Weeds. John Wiley and Sons, United States.
Deesh AD, Ubaub LT, Furlong M, Lomavatu MF. 2025. Weed population dynamics and composition in a tropical island eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) agroecosystem: Implications for sustainable weed management. Pac Sci 78 (4): 429-443. DOI: 10.2984/78.4.6.
Desmedt W, Mangelinckx S, Kyndt T, Vanholme B. 2020. A phytochemical perspective on plant defense against nematodes. Front Plant Sci 11: 602079. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.602079.
Dong L, Li X, Huang L, Gao Y, Zhong L, Zheng Y, Zuo Y. 2014. Lauric acid in crown daisy root exudate potently regulates root-knot nematode chemotaxis and disrupts Mi-flp-18 expression to block infection. J Exp Bot 65 (1): 131-141. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ert356.
El-Sherbiny AA. 2024. Nematicidal performance of Ipomoea carnea and Pluchea dioscoridis extracts towards Tylenchulus semipenetrans and their possible application in nematode management on Washington navel oranges. Egypt J Agronematol 23 (2): 91-109. DOI: 10.21608/ejaj.2024.400577.
Esposito M, Westbrook AS, Maggio A, Cirillo V, DiTommaso A. 2023. Neutral weed communities: The intersection between crop productivity, biodiversity, and weed ecosystem services. Weed Sci 71 (4): 301-311. DOI: 10.1017/wsc.2023.27.
Fabiyi OA. 2022. Evaluation of weeds against root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) in vegetables. Sarhad J Agric 38 (4): 1289-1299. DOI: 10.17582/journal.sja/2022/38.4.1289.1299.
Forghani F, Hajihassani A. 2020. Recent advances in the development of environmentally benign treatments to control root-knot nematodes. Front Plant Sci 11: 1125. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01125.
Gardarin A, Plantegenest M, Bischoff A, Valantin-Morison M. 2018. Understanding plant-arthropod interactions in multitrophic communities to improve conservation biological control: Useful traits and metrics. J Pest Sci 91 (3): 943-955. DOI: 10.1007/s10340-018-0958-0.
Geremew D, Dechassa N, Bedada S, Bekele G, Hundessa N, Abdisa T, Gella D, Duguma M. 2023. Assessment of weed species composition and diversity in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) farms in Ethiopia. F1000 Res 12: 1429. DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.133468.1.
Harms N, Cronin J. 2020. Biological control agent attack timing and population variability, but not density, best explain target weed density across an environmental gradient. Sci Rep 10 (1): 11062. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68108-w.
Hussain MA, Mukhtar T, Kayani MZ. 2011. Efficacy evaluation of Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Datura stramonium and Tagetes erecta against root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita. Pak J Bot 43 (1): 197-204.
Jiang Y, Chen F. 2022. Nematocidal activity of extracts of Alternanthera philoxeroides and Cayratia japonica against Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. J Nanjing For Univ 46 (4): 45-52. DOI: 10.12302/j.issn.1000-2006.202009032.
Lopes A, Soares M, Chidichima L, Dias?Arieira C. 2020. Weed hosts of Meloidogyne spp. and the effect of aqueous weed extracts on egg hatching. Weed Res 60 (2): 142-149. DOI: 10.1111/wre.12399.
Lu Q, Liu T, Wang N, Dou Z, Wang K, Zuo Y. 2020. Nematicidal effect of methyl palmitate and methyl stearate against Meloidogyne incognita in bananas. J Agric Food Chem 68 (24): 6502-6510. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c00218.
Machado ART, Ferreira SR, da Silva Medeiros F, Fujiwara RT, de Souza Filho JD, Pimenta LPS. 2015. Nematicidal activity of Annona crassiflora leaf extract on Caenorhabditis elegans. Parasites Vectors 8 (1): 113. DOI: 10.1186/s13071-015-0708-6.
Mwamula AO, Kabir MF, Lee D. 2022. A review of the potency of plant extracts and compounds from key families as an alternative to synthetic nematicides: History, efficacy, and current developments. Plant Pathol J 38 (2): 53. DOI: 10.5423/PPJ.RW.12.2021.0179.
Mwangi O, Mucheru-Muna M, Kinyua M, Bolo P, Kihara J. 2024. Organic farming practices increase weed density and diversity over conventional practices: A meta-analysis. Heliyon 10 (12): e32761. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32761.
Nafea ?A, Mousa E-SM, Mahdy ME, Bakr RA. 2023. Nematicidal potential of some wild weeds on root-knot nematodes infecting tomato plants. Egypt J Crop Prot 18 (2): 24-42. DOI: 10.21608/EJCP.2023.310402.
Ntalli NG, Caboni P. 2012. Botanical nematicides: A review. J Agric Food Chem 60 (40): 9929-9940. DOI: 10.1021/jf303107j.
Pala F, Erman M, Cig F, Dilmen H, Pala F, Erman M, Cig F, Dilmen H. 2020. A study on weed flora and importance value index of weeds in wheat crop. Intl J Sci Technol Res 6 (1): 49-59. DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/6?01?05.
Peerzada AM. 2017. Biology, agricultural impact, and management of Cyperus rotundus L.: The world’s most tenacious weed. Acta Physiol Plant 39 (12): 270. DOI: 10.1007/s11738-017-2574-7.
Pradana AP, Sholehah S, Andriyani DR, Hoesain M, Astuti W, Hadiani RU, Masnilah R, Adiwena M, Putri D. 2025. Nematicidal activity of Trichoderma harzianum-derived secondary metabolites against Meloidogyne incognita and metabolomic profiling of selected potent isolates. Asian J Agric 9: 326-338. DOI: 10.13057/asianjagric/g090134.
Raj R, Das T, Kaur R, Singh R, Shekhawat K. 2018. Invasive noxious weed management research in India with special reference to Cyperus rotundus, Eichhornia crassipes, and Lantana camara. Indian J Agric Sci 88 (2): 181-196. DOI: 10.56093/ijas.v88i2.79160.
Rusinque L, Maleita C, Abrantes I, Palomares-Rius JE, Inácio ML. 2021. Meloidogyne graminicola, a threat to rice production: Review update on distribution, biology, identification, and management. Biology 10 (11): 1163. DOI: 10.3390/biology10111163.
Satriawan H, Fuady Z. 2019. Analysis of weed vegetation in immature and mature oil palm plantations. Biodiversitas 20 (11): 3292-3298. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d201123.
Schleker ASS, Rist M, Matera C, Damijonaitis A, Collienne U, Matsuoka K, Habash SS, Twelker K, Gutbrod O, Saalwächter C. 2022. Mode of action of fluopyram in plant-parasitic nematodes. Sci Rep 12 (1): 11954. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15782-7.
Sharma G, Shrestha S, Kunwar S, Tseng T-M. 2021. Crop diversification for improved weed management: A review. Agriculture 11 (5): 461. DOI: 10.3390/agriculture11050461.
Sharma P, Singh MK, Verma K, Prasad SK. 2022. Soil weed seedbank under different cropping systems of middle Indo-Gangetic plains. Plant Soil Environ 68 (11): 542-551. DOI: 10.17221/162/2022-PSE.
Shiferaw W, Demissew S, Bekele T. 2018. Ecology of soil seed banks: Implications for conservation and restoration of natural vegetation: A review. Intl J Biodivers Conserv 10 (10): 380-393. DOI: 10.5897/IJBC2018.1226.
Sholkamy EN, Muthukrishnan P, Abdel-Raouf N, Nandhini X, Ibraheem IB, Mostafa AA. 2020. Antimicrobial and antinematicidal metabolites from Streptomyces cuspidosporus strain SA4 against selected pathogenic bacteria, fungi and nematode. Saudi J Biol Sci 27 (12): 3208-3220. DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.08.043.
?in B, Öztürk L. 2021. Nematicidal weeds in the control of plant parasitic nematodes. J Agric Biotechnol 2: 78-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2007.09.106.
Sithole N, Kulkarni M, Finnie J, Van Staden J. 2021. Potential nematicidal properties of plant extracts against Meloidogyne incognita. S Afr J Bot 139: 409-417. DOI: 10.1016/j.sajb.2021.02.014.
Siyar S, Majeed A, Muhammad Z, Ali H, Inayat N. 2019. Allelopathic effect of aqueous extracts of three weed species on the growth and leaf chlorophyll content of bread wheat. Acta Ecol Sin 39 (1): 63-68. DOI: 10.1016/j.chnaes.2018.05.007.
Snyder WE. 2019. Give predators a complement: Conserving natural enemy biodiversity to improve biocontrol. Biol Control 135: 73-82. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocontrol.2019.04.017.
Sousa AJ, Souza PF, Gifoni JM, Dias LP, Freitas CD, Oliveira JT, Sousa DO, Vasconcelos IM. 2020. Scanning electron microscopy reveals deleterious effects of Moringa oleifera seed exuded proteins on root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita eggs. Intl J Biol Macromol 154: 1237-1244. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.10.278.
Stucky T, Dahlin P. 2022. Fluopyram: Optimal application time point and planting hole treatment to control Meloidogyne incognita. Agronomy 12 (7): 1576. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12071576.
Subedi S, Thapa B, Shrestha J. 2020. Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) and its management: A review. J Agric Nat Resour 3 (2): 21-31. DOI: 10.3126/janr.v3i2.32298.
Sun J, Javed Q, Du Y, Azeem A, Abbas A, Iqbal B, He Y, Xiang Y, Du D. 2022. Invasive Alternanthera philoxeroides has performance advantages over natives under flooding with high amount of nitrogen. Aquat Ecol 56 (3): 891-903. DOI: 10.1007/s10452-022-09951-z.
Tapia-Vázquez I, Montoya-Martínez AC, Santos-Villalobos S, Ek-Ramos MJ, Montesinos-Matías R, Martínez-Anaya C. 2022. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) a threat to agriculture in Mexico: Biology, current control strategies, and perspectives. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 38 (2): 26. DOI: 10.1007/s11274-021-03211-2.
Travlos IS, Cheimona N, Roussis I, Bilalis DJ. 2018. Weed-species abundance and diversity indices in relation to tillage systems and fertilization. Front Environ Sci 6: 11. DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2018.00011.
Velasco-Azorsa R, Cruz-Santiago H, del Prado-Vera I, Ramirez-Mares MV, Gutiérrez-Ortiz MdR, Santos-Sánchez NF, Salas-Coronado R, Villanueva-Cañongo C, Lira-de León KI, Hernández-Carlos B. 2021. Chemical characterization of plant extracts and evaluation of their nematicidal and phytotoxic potential. Molecules 26 (8): 2216. DOI: 10.3390/molecules26082216.
Werle IS, Castro E, Pucci C, Chakraborty SB, Broderick S, Tseng TM. 2022. Identification of weed-suppressive tomato cultivars for weed management. Plants 11 (3): 411. DOI: 10.3390/plants11030411.
Zaragoza C, Tei F, Montemurro P, Baumann D, Dobrzanski A, Giovinazzo R, Kleifeld Y, Rocha F, Rzozi S, Sanseovic T. 2002. Weeds and weed management in processing tomato. Acta Hortic 613: 111-121. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.613.13.
Zhang Q, Si G, Chen L, Hu L, Cui G, Wang M, Zhao D. 2024. Current status and prospects of pine wilt disease management with phytochemicals: A review. Plants 13 (15): 2129. DOI: 10.3390/plants13152129.
Zhang Z, Liu J, Wang L-C, Wang Y, Deng L-L. 2020. Impact of the invasive plant Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb on soil meso-and microfaunal community. Appl Ecol Environ Res 18 (2): 3073-3085. DOI: 10.15666/aeer/1802_30733085.