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Effect of geraniol, a plant-based alcohol monoterpene oil, against Meloidogyne javanica

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Abstract

Terpenes are secondary metabolites produced in different biological pathways as defense mechanisms against, among others, nematodes, insects and herbivores. Root-knot nematodes (RKN; Meloidogyne spp.) are one of the most serious pests of economically importance for vegetable production in Greece. The aim of this study was to investigate the nematicidal activity of geraniol on different life stages at 35–1000 ppm doses against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the effect of geraniol on egg differentiation and also its sub-lethal doses effect. Experiments testing the contact action of geraniol resulted in about 100% mortality of J2 s, whereas vapor showed only about 10%. Particularly, geraniol paralyzed 100% of second-stage juveniles (J2 s) and inhibited egg hatching in about 70%, at a dose of 500 ppm. In pot experiment, the use of geraniol at sub-lethal doses reduced female numbers in tomato roots. To the contrary, no nematostatic effects were observed in paralysis bioassays. The present study strongly demonstrates geraniol’s toxic effect against root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Tzortzakakis Emmanuel for the nematode specie speciment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Department of Science of Crop Production, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855, Athens, Greece

    Eleni Nasiou & Ioannis O. Giannakou

Authors
  1. Eleni Nasiou
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  2. Ioannis O. Giannakou
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Contributions

Nasiou Eleni is a PhD student, designed and conducted the exrperiments, analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. Ioannis Giannakou is Ms. Nasiou’s supervisor, supervised the experiments and corrected the first draft of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Eleni Nasiou.

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Nasiou, E., Giannakou, I.O. Effect of geraniol, a plant-based alcohol monoterpene oil, against Meloidogyne javanica. Eur J Plant Pathol 152, 701–710 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-018-1512-x

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