Analysis of 1,3-Dichloropropene for Control of Meloidogyne spp. in a Tobacco Pest Management System.

1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D) and nonfumigant nematicides were evaluated for control of Meloidogyne spp. and soil and foliar insects in a tobacco pest management system. In a field with a high Meloidogyne spp. population density (root gall index 4.0 to 4.5 on a 0 to 10 scale in untreated controls), tobacco yields and crop values increased (482 kg/ha and $1,784/ha for 1, 3-D; 326 kg/ha and $1,206/ha for fenamiphos; 252 kg/ha and $933/ha for ethoprop) with nematicide application over an untreated control. In fields with a low population density of Meloidogyne arenaria or M. incognita (root gall index 2.3 to 2.5 in untreated controls), yields ranged from 1,714 to 2,027 kg/ha and were not altered by fumigant or nonfumigant nematicide application. Carbofuran, a soil-applied nonfumigant nematicide/insecticide, reduced the number of foliar insecticide applications required to keep insect populations below treatment threshold (3.8 vs. 4.5, respectively, for treated vs. untreated). Carbofuran reduced the cost ($23/ha) of foliar insecticide treatments when compared to an untreated control. Although nonfumigant nematicides provided some soil and foliar insect control, the cost of using a fumigant plus a lower insecticidal rate of a soil insecticide/nematicide was comparable to the least expensive non-fumigant nematicide when the cost of foliar insecticide applications was included in the cost estimates. Savings in foliar insecticide cost by use of soil-applied nonfumigant nematicide/insecticides were small ($23/ha) in comparison to potential value reductions by root-knot nematodes when the nonfumigant nematicides fenamiphos or ethoprop ($578/ha and $851/ha, respectively) were used instead of 1,3-D.