SUPPRESSIVENESS OF NATIVE OR BIOPROCESSED FOOD WASTES TO ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA ON TOMATO

The reuse of food wastes or agroindustrial by-products as soil amendments has been frequently reported for an effective control of several phytoparasitic nematodes, also including root-knot species of genus Meloidogyne, as well as for an improvement of soil quality and crop yield. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of spent coffee ground (SCG), brewer’s spent grain (BSG) and wasted bread (WB), either raw or bioprocessed, with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) or a compost tea (CT), on the infestation of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita on tomato. Spent coffee ground, raw or bioprocessed with a CT extracted from a mature green waste compost, and BSG or WB, raw or bioprocessed with LAB strains, were incorporated to the soil at doses corresponding to 3000 kg ha-1 organic carbon. All the amendments significantly suppressed the multiplication of M. incognita and gall formation on tomato roots as well as significantly increased plant growth. Bioprocessing SCG and BSG with CT and LAB, respectively, significantly improved the suppressiveness of raw materials to M. incognita, while only LAB-processed BSG significantly increased plant growth compared to the raw material. Results from this study indicated that the recovery of the three tested waste materials as soil amendments can provide an additional tool for a sustainable management of root-knot nematodes.