author(s)
N Swarnakumari and M Pandiyan

abstract
Root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita is one of the major nematodes infesting brinjal. It is wide spread in India. An attempt was made to exploit rhizosphere bioagents for the management of root knot nematode. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from healthy brinjal plants of nematode infested sick field at Virinchipuram village, Tamil Nadu. Around six Bacillus sp. isolates and one actinobacteria isolate were obtained from soil. Preliminary screening was done with culture filtrates of these isolates on egg hatching and nematode penetration. The observations showed that actinobacteria (V5) cultural filtrate @ 75% concentration showed 51.7 % inhibition in egg hatching compared to control. A significant reduction in juvenile penetration (t_c > t_t) and number of galls per plant as well as number of egg masses were observed in actinobacteria treated brinjal (variety VRM1) plants. A pot culture experiment was carried out to test the effect actinobacteria (V5) in brinjal against M. incognita. Results revealed that the egg mass production was reduced to an extent of 55 % compared to untreated control by the application of actinobacteria culture filtrate.