Cover Crops for Managing Root-Knot Nematodes

Cover crops are grown between cash crop cycles or incorporated with cash crops for various benefits to agricultural production and soil quality. Cover crops can also help with management of plant-parasitic nematodes, such as root-knot nematodes. However, the efficacy depends on the species of cover crop and root-knot nematode present in a particular field. If the cover crop is a poor host of the root-knot nematodes in the field, a portion of nematodes will die because they are deprived of a food source. In contrast, if the root-knot nematode species in the field can feed on the selected cover crop (good host), nematode populations will increase. This article outlines the influence of some common winter and summer cover crops on root-knot nematodes.