Anatomical Alterations Caused by Meloidogyne incognita in the Rhizospheric Region of Curcuma longa in Baruasagar Town of Jhansi (U.P.) India

ABSTRACT

Root‐knot nematodes Meloidogyne incognita are sedentary endoparasites with a broad host range which includes economically important medicinal plant species including Turmeric. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is an important medicinal and aromatic plant (MAPs) grown at Baruasagar town in Jhansi district where root‐knot nematodes are a major threat in production fields. The invasion of M. incognita causes serious morphological abnormalities like stunted growth and yellowness of leaves above the ground and the formation of galls at the rhizospheric root, below the ground. The infected root samples of C. longa were collected from three different agro‐ecosystem zones of Baruasagar town of Jhansi and processed for optical microscopic investigation. For ascertaining the histopathological modifications, the galled roots were collected and the egg masses were picked from them for culture. The giant cells observed with thicker irregular cell walls and possessed dense cytoplasmic contents with multiple nuclei.