Publication

Abstract : Plant parasitic nematodes are obligate parasitic round worms belonging to the phylum Nematoda. They cause extensive agricultural crop damage and therefore strategies to control their population involve various approaches. The conventional strategies entail the use of plant based products, while physical strategies necessitates effective farmland practices-such as crop rotation, solarization etc. Moreover the use of hazardous chemicals has proved futile in curtailing the exacerbated damage caused by the nematodes, therefore necessitating the need for new paradigms to confront the menace. Breeding involves pyramiding genes towards conferring resistance to certain pathotypes is promising and effective but is a long drawn out process and therefore Genetic engineering offers a ray of new hope to combat the nuisance. However engineering resistance has its own drawbacks and should be adopted keeping in mind is shortcomings as extensive farming may break resistance offered by the transgenics towards a particular pathotype. Therefore opportunities towards evaluation of the nematode resistance mechanism in plants should be viewed in a broader perspective to address the effectiveness of the various strategies.