AI Article Synopsis
- Soil pH significantly affects both nutrient availability and microbial activity, impacting plant growth and the effectiveness of beneficial organisms like entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) that target soil insects.
- The study aimed to test the pH tolerance of 11 steinernematid and six heterorhabditid EPNs by exposing them to pH levels ranging from 2 to 11 using two chemical solutions.
- Results showed that most EPN populations had over 50% survival between pH 3 and pH 10, with steinernematids generally exhibiting better survival in ammonium-acetate solutions; some species demonstrated a high tolerance across both acidic and alkaline pH levels, making them suitable for biological pest
Article Abstract
Soil pH affects the availability of nutrients, which impacts plant growth and development. Similarly, soil pH may also influence microorganisms in the soil, either beneficial or nonbeneficial. One such group of beneficial microorganisms is entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN), parasites of soil-inhabiting insects. Entomopathogenic nematodes have a number of attributes that make them good alternatives to chemical insecticides. The objective of this study was to investigate pH tolerance of 11 steinernematids and six heterorhabditids post exposure to different pH levels. Entomopathogenic nematode populations were exposed to varying pH levels (pH2 to pH11) made up from two different chemical solutions (ammonium-acetate and citrate-phosphate). Entomopathogenic nematode populations are expected to have varying tolerance to different pH levels. The highest infective juvenile survival was obtained from pH3 to pH10 in citrate-phosphate, where all populations displayed >50% survival. populations had >90% survival at pH3 to pH11 in citrate-phosphate solutions. Overall, the steinernematids had a higher survival range in ammonium-acetate pH solutions compared with the heterorhabditids. Moreover, spp., (ScCxrd, ScAll, and ScItalian) and showed consistently higher survival in both acidic and alkaline solutions, when compared to the other steinernematids, suggesting that they may be applied in both acidic and alkaline soils. These findings can be of use when selecting EPNs for biological control purposes in the two countries, respectively.
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|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8267405 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2021-062 | DOI Listing |
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