Nematodes and Healthy Roots

[angelique]

Hi All,

Does anyone have picture of what healthy tomato roots should look like? I have only been able to find pictures of "sick" looking roots.

I think that I have nematodes but I am not certain. One tomato plant is extremely dwarf (the nearest one in soil is about 20' away and looks very healthy), and it's leaves are yellowing and dropping quite quickly. This is the same exact location where I had other tomato plants do horribly last year. Ironically, this year, my squash is doing very well (about 5' in from the sick tomato plant). My basil has also "dwarfed". Last year my peppers were also super dwarfed. This year they are in pots.

I pulled up some of the roots of the sickly plant. Some of them are hair thin. The others are as thick as a very thick yarn and bumpy (like a very thick shoe lace but not quite as thick as a pencil). Is this normal?

If I do have nematodes, am I better off doing solarization or anti-nematodic cover crop this summer (mustard?)?

I read online that there are nematodes resistant varieties of tomatoes. Does anyone know which varieties have this characteristic?

Thank you for your help.

Angelique

[cthomato]

I have root knot nematodes in parts of my yard so I have a bit of experience with it. Those big bumps (galls) on the roots you mentioned indicate you do indeed have them. Don't fret about pulling the infected plants, they will not survive long. If they do, they will not produce much if anything.

One thing about nematodes is that they tend to be localized to patches of soil. They do not spread too quickly on their own. From what I understand, they travel along sand grains. So one way to reduce their concentration is to amend your sandy soil with lots of organic compost.

There are resistant hybrid varieties, which are identified by a 'N' after their name (i.e. First Lady VFNT). They will still succumb to the nematode but it will take longer than other non-resistant varieties. So you still get tomatoes, just not all season long. I grew an Early Girl in a "infected" spot last year and it got 50-60 toms before it croaked.

Now, I have not tried the approaches you have mentioned. What I've done is bury an 18-gallon rubbermaid (or similar) tote about 12-18" deep in the infected spot. I drill drainage holes in the bottom and fill it with potting soil. I also amend the soil at the bottom of the hole before burying the tote. This has worked very well for me. I have found that the plants will develop thick roots through the drainage holes and those roots will not have galls. You can get buy these totes for $3-$6 apiece and they do go on sale at Home Depot from time to time. I think of this approach as the lazy man's raised bed.

I truly sympathize with your plight. I hope this helps.

Chris

[angelique]

Cthomato-Thank you very much for the info.

I know this isn't a tomato question, but with they eventually kill off my squash and cuke plants (3' and 5' respectively)? Both look quite happy.

I plan to use a cover crop in this area during the winter (a mixture of daikon, mustard and rape). I hope those will help with my problem.

Is it worth planting marigolds in the infected area now?

Thanks for your help.

Angelique

[coronabarb]

angelique,

Have a look at this page - it is for cotton crops but has some info and a good pic of N. infested roots. I thought it was interesting that for crop rotation to reduce N. numbers, they recommend N. resistant varieties of tomatoes.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r114200111.html

[angelique]

Hi Barb,

Thanks for the the link. Actually, the two tomato plants planted in the patch are my two sacraficial plants. Last year, I had problems with tomatoes, pest and disease. I have since dug up two raised beds (4x4 and 7x4). The rest of my plants are in containers or grow bags. I'll send you pictures later.

Because of the shape and length of this location (4x30ft), I am hoping to save it permanently (or at least another 2 years for cukes and squash). I am going to X my fingers that these veggies will not be impacted by disease or permanent pests.

I also plan on adding two more 8x3ft beds, one for square root gardening (herbs and beans in Summer, and winter veggies in fall) and the other for alliums. Once thes beds are done and I buy two fruit trees (dwarf mandarin and dwarf nectarine), I'll be at capacity.

Again, thank you for your help. I look forward to seeing you at Norcatt.

Cheers,

Angelique

P.S. Next year, I plan on squeezing in some Sweet Quartz in the infected area. My understanding is that SQ is a disease resistant variety.

[angelique]

This morning, I pulled out this tomato plant, because the leaves looked horribly yellow. I was amazed at how knotty the roots were. Ironically, when I pulled out the plant, there was no "struggle"; it didn't even try to live.

[MsCowpea]

Angelique, besides considering a nematacidal cover crop and solarization add lots of organic matter.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/NG005

I put in new raised beds and found the 70/30 (unsterilized ) I brought in had nematodes that seemed to effect some of the beds.

I am amending with lots of organic matter and then hope to plant cover crop and/or solarize.

farkee (MsCowpea)