Nematicide agent and method for the bio-control of nematodes

A method for obtaining a bacterial strain having nematicidal properties comprises collecting samples of soil and/or plant tissues from an area affected by nematodes, distinguishing samples of highly affected material from samples of less affected material, isolating bacterial strains present in said samples, comparing bacterial strains present in highly affected samples with strains present in less affected samples, selecting strains present only in the less affected samples, testing nematicidal properties of the selected strains and selecting those bacterial strains having useful nematicidal properties. A method for the biocontrol of nematodes comprises contacting the soil, a plant or a seed with an effective quantity of a nematicidal agent which is a culture obtained from Sphingo bacterium spiritivorum C-926 and/or Corynobacterium pauro metabolum C-924, or a metabolite derived from the said strain, obtained by natural, recombinant or synthetic route, in an appropriate carrier, or using the said nematicidal agent in a veterinary compsn. for the control of 300 nematodes. The said cultures, used as nematodicidic agent in this method, or any mutation derived from them which is active against nematodes, are also claimed, as are nematicidic agents comprising the said agents and an appropriate carrier. New bacterial strains, in particular Sphingobacterium spiritivorum C-926 and Corynebacterium paurometabolum C-924 with useful characteristics in the farming sector due to their nematicidic effect, which can be used in this context for the bio-control of nematodes. Bionematicides capable of effectively controlling phytopathogenic nematode populations in various crops of interest. Useful strains may be isolated from soil taken from areas habitually affected by a high incidence of nematodes, from banana plants showing less severe symptoms of infestation. Strains are selected which are capable of affecting the eggs of the nematode Meloidogyne incognita, in experiments carried out under laboratory conditions. Active strains, such as Sphingobacterium spiritivorum strain C-926 and Corynebacterium paurometabolum strain C-924, are tested to assess the protection which the bacterial preparation, applied directly, can provide to pumpkin and banana plants in relation to Meloidogyne incognita and Radopholus similis. Strains may also be tested against the zoonematodes Haemonchus sp. and Trichostrongylus sp. Control of these parasites allows veterinary use. In addition to the n