Utilization of waste materials in nematode control: A review

The addition of waste materials from animals and plants to soil has been explored as an alternative means of nematode control. These materials include agricultural wastes in the form of green manures and dried-crop residues in general and industrial by-products, such as oilcakes, sawdust, cellulosic waste, and sugar-cane bagasse in particular. Besides these, other biological wastes (chitin, bone meal, horn meal, sewage-sludge, municipal refuse, and livestock wastes) have been proved succesful in controlling nematodes for several years. The beneficial effects of organic incorporation have been generally considered to be due to direct or indirect stimulation of predators and parasites of plant-parasitic nematodes. Very often, when there was a decrease in the soil-pathogen population, there was a consequent increase in crop yield. This review reveals a promising area of ‘non-conventional’ nematode-management.