The Meloidogyne incognita has detrimental effect on the sustainable production of cucumber production. It is a significant pest that significantly reduces cucumber plant growth and causes yield losses of 66.23 percent. Aim of this study is to draw systematic and comprehensive picture of resistant reaction of different cultivars of cucumber against root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita which can be used by farmers for more production. A pot culture experiment was conducted in the department of nematology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar 2021-2022 to examine how 34 cucumber cultivars responded to Meloidogyne incognita. The experimental setup was designed on CRD having 3 replications. The roots of all the cucumber cultivars were examined 45 days after the inoculation to calculate their gall indices, which ranged from 0 to 5. Data were collected based on nematode reproduction after 45 days. None of the 34 cucumber cultivars tested positive for immunity to root-knot nematode. Present data revealed that out of Thirty-four (34) varieties none was found immune against root-knot nematode. Two varieties Green long and Topper F1 were categorised as resistant against M. incognita while nine (9) varieties summer queen, Malini, Crystal-21, Super Queen 45, Encounter 962 F1, Kareena, Padma -51, JK Manali, Krish were categorised as moderately resistant and eighteen varieties (18) Rajmata, sukumal, supriya, Simran, Clara, Glossy, NS-415, Padmini, KSP-1302 Bhavana, Hercules New, ZCU-126, KSP-142 Hansa, Kumud, Natalia-74, Suruchi, AZCU-30, Hind, cucumber sweet long were found susceptible against root knot nematode and remaining five (5) varieties Basumati, 12-Patra, Adimata, Kumulika, Radhika were found highly susceptible reaction to nematode.

cucumber varieties, Meloidogyne incognita, gall index, resistance

The residual nematode population density in the field is directly impacted by resistant and moderately resistant germplasm that inhibits nematode reproduction. It would be desirable to choose resistant genotypes based on root knot index during preliminary assessments, followed by selection based on nematode reproduction during advanced evaluations, for breeding programmes for resistance to plant parasitic nematodes. Therefore, using resistant genetic material can be a key strategy for controlling the root knot nematode population in the pulse ecosystem. On resistant and moderately resistant germplasm, it was revealed that Meloidogyne incognita reproductive capacity was drastically low. These cultivars are advised for cultivation in M. incognita infested fields because they are expected to experience less nematode damage than susceptible ones with the highest rate of nematode multiplication.

Tamireddy Anjali, Byomakesh Dash, Niranjan Das, Narayan Panda and G. Santhosh (2022). Screening of Cucumber varieties for their Reaction to Root-knot Nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(4a): 662-666.