Harnessing the Power of Suppressive Soils to Manage Root-Knot Nematodes in Organic Vegetable Production

Harnessing the Power of Suppressive Soils to Manage Root-Knot Nematodes in Organic Vegetable Production We will explore suppressive soils against root-knot nematode (RKN) at vegetable farming sites, and examine the impact of various soil practices techniques on enhancing the suppressive effect. This will include collecting soil samples from farms across both Indiana and Kentucky and evaluating the nematode populations in those samples. We will investigate microbial communities to identify specific groups of microbes associated with the RKN suppressive soils and then create RKN suppressive soils. The suppressive soils will then be evaluated in the greenhouse and then on farms with RKN infestations. There will be grower meetings and outreach activities to promote communication and education about suppressive soil. 1