Evaluation the Effect of Paecilomyces lilacinus as a Biocontrol Agent of Meloidogyne javanica on Tomato in Gaza Strip

The present study is based on the investigation of a soil hyphomyces, Paecilomyces lilacinus, an opportunistic bio-control agent. The egg pathogenic fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus is a unique strain with a wide range of activity against the most important plant parasitic nematodes. The aim of this study to evaluate the efficiency of P. lilacinus on parasitic nematodes Meloidogyne javanica on tomato plant in Gaza strip.The effects of P. lilacinus on the root-knot nematode M. javanica were examined under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. The fungal isolates were identified using morphological and moleculer primers. Infection ability of the fungal isolate on egg hatching and mortality of M. javanica juveniles (J2) were tested in vitro. Results indicated that nematode egg hatching inhibition and J2 mortality of the spore suspension of these fungi have variable effects on target nematode. Which shown 94%, reducing on hatching eggs nematode M. javanica especially when using a high concentration of P. lilacinus spores suspension 3000 spore/ml after 48 hours laying eggs in petri dishes and also led to killing 57% of M. javanica juveniles (J2) after 72 hours of incubation. In greenhouse experiment, the effects of P. lilacinus on tomato plant growth factors and nematode population were tested. The treatments were divided into six groups, namely Group 1untreated control, Group 2Meloidogyne javanica alone, Group 3P. lilacinus alone, Group 4Meloidogyne javanica and P. lilacinus simultaneously, Group 5Meloidogyne javanica followed by P. lilacinus and Group 6P. lilacinus followed by Meloidogyne javanica were arranged in a randomised complete block design. Pots were kept in greenhouse for two months. The data were recorded on plant length, fresh and dry weight, number of leaf per plant, number of galls, egg masses, and percentage of eggs infected was also estimated. Results showed that the group Inoculation of 2000J of M. javanica caused the significant reduction in various plant growth parameters and yield compared to untreated control. Use of P. lilacinus caused a significant increase in the growth and yield of tomato plants inoculated with of M. javanica. Application of P. lilacinus one week before nematode and simultaneous with nematode inoculation was more effective than other treatments. A significant enhancement was found in growth parameter of tomato and decrease the percentage of eggs and nematode populations. The experiments revealed that P. lilacinus effectively bio-controls root-knot nematode and can be applied in agricultural fields by farmers in the fields of tomatoes in Gaza Strip