Root Knot Nematodes (RKN)

[AlittleSalt]

Root Knot Nematodes (RKN)

I started a thread in the General Discussion section here called, "When To Pull Them" http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=41682 The discussion soon turned to RKN. I want to start this thread in the correct section with the title not being misleading.

I want to share pictures along the way as well as everything I learn on how to combat these nuisances. I hope to read info and see pictures that you all share as well. If you see something I'm doing wrong - let me know.

I'll start with a picture that shows what RKN does to roots of many vegetables and fruit. The first picture is a tomato plant's roots heavily infected with RKN.

The second and third pictures are of a 45'x45' garden being solarized as of today.

[Worth1]

Salt I read that asparagus was a good companion plant for tomatoes and it may repel nematodes.

Worth

[AlittleSalt]

That will make a lot of people out here happy Worth. We all love asparagus.

[MissS]

I feel for you Salt... I really do. You and your Mrs. have worked very hard over the past year to build some amazing gardens and now you have to deal with this........ I read your other thread and am a bit speechless. I can not offer any advise because it is something that I have never dealt with but I sure do wish you the best of luck and hope that you find a way to combat this.

[carolyn137]

You might want to do some searching here since the topic of RKN's has been a very active topic.

http://www.tomatoville.com/search.php?searchid=2405457

Go back quite a bit and you'll find suggestions for ebon rye cover crop,special marigolds,lobster shells,solar sterilization and much more along with what didn't work for almost everyone..

Carolyn

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by MissS

I feel for you Salt... I really do. You and your Mrs. have worked very hard over the past year to build some amazing gardens and now you have to deal with this........ I read your other thread and am a bit speechless. I can not offer any advise because it is something that I have never dealt with but I sure do wish you the best of luck and hope that you find a way to combat this.

Patti, at first, it was irritating and upsetting to find out we have this RKN problem in our main garden. At the same time, I was glad to find out what is going on.

Now, I see the RKN problem as something different. I'm actually excited to battle these microscopic nuisances. I started gardening to learn and to keep myself busy. The RKN will be a busy learning experience.

I've been looking at other areas to grow in and planted in one of the areas. There are RKN in that area as well. Winter Squash and Melons wilt during direct sun and rebound overnight. They are producing though.

We have large raised beds that show no signs of RKN. They're around 90' away from the main garden. We will plant tomatoes in the raised beds. Use tools in those beds that do not get used anywhere else.

[b54red]

I fought them for over 35 years with varying degrees of success. Building up the organic content, reducing the sandiness of the soil, and using a good dense mulch all helped. The most effective thing I ever did was till in a few pickup loads of fresh horse manure. Now I use only grafted plants with rootstock that is very resistant to RKN.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

I am going to have to learn how to graft plants.

There are some varieties that did grow and produce very well in the garden that has RKN in it. When I planted the 5 rows of 19 plants each - I planted as the transplants became big enough to plant out. This meant that the varieties that I planted more of one of - were planted in different rows or areas in the garden. (Instead of being planted beside each other.)

The varieties that did well were:

Accidental Crosses - I have no idea on what F (Filial) generation.
A Grappoli Corbarino
A Grappoli D'Inverno
Chocolate Cherry
Indigo Blue Berries
Indigo Cherry Drops
Japanese Pink Cherry
Kiss The Sky
Medovaya Kaplya
MegaTrusses - not sure on the spelling or if it is 2 words?
Peacevine
Punta Banda
Rebel Yell
Shedra Sliva Tarasenka
Sweetie
WOW

There were many varieties that had no RKN resistance, but the one variety that really surprised me that didn't make it was Big Beef VFFNTA.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I am going to have to learn how to graft plants.

There are some varieties that did grow and produce very well in the garden that has RKN in it. When I planted the 5 rows of 19 plants each - I planted as the transplants became big enough to plant out. This meant that the varieties that I planted more of one of - were planted in different rows or areas in the garden. (Instead of being planted beside each other.)

The varieties that did well were:

Accidental Crosses - I have no idea on what F (Filial) generation.
A Grappoli Corbarino
A Grappoli D'Inverno
Chocolate Cherry
Indigo Blue Berries
Indigo Cherry Drops
Japanese Pink Cherry
Kiss The Sky
Medovaya Kaplya
MegaTrusses - not sure on the spelling or if it is 2 words?
Peacevine
Punta Banda
Rebel Yell
Shedra Sliva Tarasenka
Sweetie
WOW

There were many varieties that had no RKN resistance, but the one variety that really surprised me that didn't make it was Big Beef VFFNTA.

I think with future plantings you will find that most of these are not resistant either if RKN is bad enough. My guess is most of these just happened to be planted where the nematodes where not as prevalent. I used to experience the same thing but eventually found that most varieties would succumb to RKN if planted in the wrong spot. I must say I am surprised by Big Beef getting nematodes because it was rarely affected at all except mildly when planted in the worse spots.

Bill

[AlittleSalt]

Here is another thought. We can all read about things that might work or did not work against RKN, but I've never read that this "whatever" kills them. I'm not sure that killing RKN is needed by a chemical. I'm wondering more about starvation?

If you plant things in a garden infected with RKN that RKN does not like - would they eventually starve? You could plant Elbon Cereal Rye in the winter along with Mustard Greens (Already have the seeds) and then in spring, plant varieties of vegetables that RKN does not like.

My idea is to keep planting things that RKN is repulsed to. I have already grown a lot of tomato varieties - it's time to grow some different things.

Looks like Asparagus gets a big thumbs up. What other veges repulse RKN is my next question?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Here is another thought. We can all read about things that might work or did not work against RKN, but I've never read that this "whatever" kills them. I'm not sure that killing RKN is needed by a chemical. I'm wondering more about starvation?

If you plant things in a garden infected with RKN that RKN does not like - would they eventually starve? You could plant Elbon Cereal Rye in the winter along with Mustard Greens (Already have the seeds) and then in spring, plant varieties of vegetables that RKN does not like.

My idea is to keep planting things that RKN is repulsed to. I have already grown a lot of tomato varieties - it's time to grow some different things.

Looks like Asparagus gets a big thumbs up. What other veges repulse RKN is my next question?

Hot Peppers; but for how long I don't know. I did notice over the years that when planting tomatoes after hot peppers that my RKN problems were less that year than usual in those spots.

Bill

[decherdt]

I do try to keep resistant roots of some sort growing most of the time. I have tried blackeye peas. 1991 Florida list here....
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...27521224,d.cWw

[AlittleSalt]

Here are a couple of links I just read. A PM brought my attention to Mexican Marigolds.

https://www.strictlymedicinalseeds.c...p?specific=573

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ng045

[AlittleSalt]

I pulled a Porter tomato plant yesterday Aug 22, 2016. It was a plant I started back in January from seed. It produced very well and then started showing the tell-tale signs of RKN a month ago. Branches started dying off as the high temperatures reached 100 degrees. I knew it wasn't right because I have over-summered Porter the past couple of years and they didn't lose branches. I cut the plant way back with only a couple healthy vines growing and then it rained with high temps in lower 80s for over a week. The Porter plant looked worse. I pulled it, and as I expected - RKN.

That Porter tomato plant is in one raised bed. Today, our younger child 'adashofpepper' and I pulled a Pruden's Purple that has been 18" for around 45 days. It was 3' away from a 4.5' tall flowering Pruden's purple growing beside it. Both planted the same day, etc. When I pulled it up - it had a tiny RKN ridden root system. We both said RKN at the same time. That Pruden's Purple was growing in our other raised bed.

Both plants proved a point - the RKN comes from our native sandy loam. That is what adashofpepper and I filled the new raised beds with. So, no, I did not introduce RKN to our gardens by buying and planting tomato and pepper transplants. Those two raised beds have never seen a store bought transplant.

I'm not going to solarize either raised beds as they both have perfectly healthy growing tomato plants in them. Big Beef, Pruden's Purple, Sungold, Rebel Yell, Early Girl, Porter - along with a lot of very good looking pepper plants. It is important to me to see those healthy plants have a chance to keep on growing and producing.

I am toying with the idea of planting both Elbon cereal rye and Mustard Greens in these two raised beds to overwinter. The idea is to keep them mowed on the highest setting of our Sears push mower, and eventually turning them under in February. Tomato transplants will go in sometime in March of next year. It takes green manure about a month to decompose.

As far as to where to plant the Mustard Greens to eat - there are 4 other raised beds that in the right growing conditions/temperatures would produce enough greens to feed a lot of people. But that is if it doesn't hard freeze - we are due for a cold winter - so who knows.

I want to add shredded dried oak leaves when we till or turn in the cereal rye. I've read countless books and even series of books on organic growing. It seems that RKN doesn't like organic growing. So many of those books call for composting at way higher rates of brown ingredients to green ones. Our gardens are going to see whatever gets thrown in it percentages, but there are a lot of oak leaves out here.

My idea is to use everything I've read to organically fix the problem - along with solarizing. If that doesn't work - next year we'll use duct tape.

[Scooty]

Have you considered "biodrill" radishes?