Bahiagrass for the Management of Meloidogyne arenaria in Peanut.

Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) cultivars Argentine, Pensacola, and Tifton-9 were non-hosts for Meloidogyne arenaria, M. incognita, and Heterodera glycines in a greenhouse experiment using field soil infested with these nematodes. The effect of Pensacola bahiagrass in rotation with peanut (Arachis hypogaea) on M. arenaria was studied in 1986 and 1987 in a field at the Wiregrass substation near Headland, Alabama. Each year soil densities of second-stage juveniles of M. arenaria, determined near peanut harvest, were 96-98% lower under bahiagrass than under peanut. In 1987 peanut yields in plots following bahiagrass were 27% higher than in plots under peanut monoculture. Juvenile population densities in bahiagrass-peanut plots were 41% lower than in plots with continuous peanut. Using bahiagrass for reducing population densities of M. arenaria and increasing peanut yield was as effective as using aldicarb at the recommended rates for peanut.