Morphometric and total protein responses in Meloidogyne incognita second-stage juveniles to Nemafric-BL phytonematicide

Abstract After hatch, second-stage juveniles (J2) of root-knot (Meloidogyne species) nematodes could spend at least 12 weeks in soil solutions searching for penetration sites of suitable host plants. The external covering of nematodes, the cuticle, consists of various layers that contain glycoproteins, lipids, soluble proteins (collagens) and insoluble proteins (cuticulins). Generally, cucurbitacins are lipophilic, but there is scant information on how cuticular proteins relate to these complex terpenoids. A study was conducted to investigate the nature and extent of damage post-exposure of J2 to a wide range of Nemafric-BL phytonematicide concentrations. Post-72 h exposure to Nemafric-BL phytonematicide, nematode morphometrics versus phytonematicides exhibited either negative quadratic, positive quadratic, or negative linear relations, with the models explained by significant (P