Resistance of ten common medicinal plants to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica

Summary A preliminary survey indicated that the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica is widely distributed in the rhizosphere of medicinal plants in Boyer-Ahmad region (Iran). Host suitability of ten species of medicinal plants to M. javanica was examined in a pot experiment under controlled greenhouse conditions: alkakengy ( Physalis alkekengi L.), chamomile ( Matricaria chamomilla L.), English plantain ( Plantago lanceolata L.), fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), garden anchusa ( Anchusa italica Retz.), horehound ( Marrubium vulgare L.), lovage ( Levisticum officinale L.), sorrel ( Rumex acetosella L.), thistle ( Echinops adenocaulos Boiss.) and woundwort ( Stachys pilifera Benth.). According to the scheme of Canto-Saenz, seven species, namely garden anchusa, fennel, horehound, alkakengy, English plantain, woundwort and sorrel can be considered susceptible hosts with gall index (GI) > 2 and reproduction factor (RF) > 1, and thistle, lovage and chamomile, can be considered as hyper-susceptible with GI > 2 and RF ≤ 1.