The parasitism of coffee roots by Meloidogyne exigua Goeldi, 1887, widespread nematode in the main producing regions, can provoke a series of modifications in the normal development of the plant. The induction of resistance for the activation of existing latent mechanisms of defense in plants represents a potentially useful alternative for the management of M. exigua in coffee plantations. In a first assay, the present work aimed at evaluating hatching and mortality of second stage juveniles (J2) of M. exigua in solutions of acibenzolar-S-metil (ASM, Bion®) and salicylic acid (SA) at the dosages of 0.2, 0.35 and 0.5 g. of a. i./L and Supa-potássio® (potassium silicate), Hortifós® PK (potassium phosphite) at the dosages 5.0; 7.5 and 10.0 mL/L, using water and aldicarb as control. The effect of ASM (0.2 g of a.i./L) was also evaluated by foliar and drench applications at 7 days before inoculation and at 2 and 7 days after inoculation of 7000 eggs of M. exigua/plant. The hatching of M. exigua J2 was inhibited in potassium silicate and in salicylic acid solutions independent of the used dosage, while J2 hatching in ASM and water was equal and significantly lower than J2 hatching verified in potassium phosphite. The mortality of J2 in SA was next to 100% and equal to the observed in aldicarb (500 ppm). The remaining products caused the same mortality of J2, however lesser than the observed in water. At ninety days of the inoculation of M. exigua on seedlings, the final population (number of eggs + J2), number of galls, reproduction factor (final population/initial population) and fresh weight of roots of plants treated with ASM did not differed significantly from control (inoculated plants).
Root-knot nematode; juveniles; mortality; hatching; Coffea Arabica
