DisplayTitle

Activity of Hydroxamic Acids from Secale cereale Against the Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Meloidogyne incognita and Xiphinema americanum

First and second authors: U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Nematology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705; third author: Pennsylvania State University Fruit Research and Extension Center, Biglerville 17307; and fourth author: USDA-ARS Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705

Cyclic hydroxamic acids are secondary metabolites found in the family Poaceae and have been implicated in the allelopathy of rye (Secale cereale). The toxicity of these compounds against plant-parasitic nematodes is unknown. DIBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one), DIMBOA (2,4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-(2H)-1,4-benzoxazin-3(4H)-one), and their degradation products BOA (benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one) and MBOA (6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2(3H)-one) were screened in vitro against Meloidogyne incognita second-stage juveniles (J2) and eggs and mixed-stages of Xiphinema americanum. Xiphinema americanum was more sensitive to DIBOA and DIMBOA than M. incognita J2, with a maximum apparent mortality of 96 and 92% compared to 73 and 72% at 90 μg/ml. Eggs of M. incognita were less sensitive to the hydroxamic acids than J2; only DIBOA resulted in a 50% reduction in egg hatch, with a lethal concentration (LC₅₀) of 74 μg/ml compared to 21 μg/ml for J2. When M. incognita J2 were exposed to DIBOA for 48 h and the compound was removed and replaced with water, the LC₅₀ value increased from 21.0 to 40.7 μg/ml. MBOA was not toxic to X. americanum or M. incognita eggs, but was toxic to M. incognita J2, with LC₅₀ values of 44 and 20 μg/ml before and after the compound was removed and replaced with water. BOA was the least toxic hydroxamic acid tested; it did not reduce M. incognita egg hatch after 1 week of exposure or increase X. americanum mortality after 24 h of exposure. While in vitro studies provide a valuable starting point in determining the toxicity of the chemical component of rye, the relevance of the data to soil remains to be determined.

Additional keywords: allelopathy , cover crop , dagger nematode , root-knot nematode .