Potential of legume lectins as antagonistic biomolecules to root knot nematode, meloidogyne incognita in tomato
Lectins from pigeonpea, and chickpea were extracted from their mature seeds and evaluated their potential use as biomolecules antagonistic to root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita on tomato in a phytotron providing 25°C day and 20°C night temperature with 12h photoperiod. Exposure of egg masses of M. incognita to a concentration of 100 ?g/ml lectin protein of chickpea and pigeonpea, haemagglutination activity of 5 and 12 units respectively, reduced hatching of second stage juveniles by 15 to 29%, adversely affected mobility of the hatched juveniles and restricted their invasion into roots by 78 to 81%. The fecundity and the soil and root population density of M. incognita were also adversely affected as recorded at day 90, ultimately reducing the hazard indices measured in terms of root galling of tomato. Analysis of lectins in different wild relatives of pigeonpea showed genotypic differences in the levels at different stages of pod development.