Coefficient and Path Analyses of the Impact of Root Galls Caused by Meloidogyne javanica on Some Growth and Yield Parameters of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Pot experiments were used to examine the impact of root galls caused by Meloidogyne javanica on some growth and yield parameters of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in Federal College of Agriculture Ishiagu, Ebonyi State, SE Nigeria in 2009 and 2010. The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with four replications. Correlation and path coefficient analyses were used to determine the extent of the biological associations between number of galled roots with gall index, plant height, number of leaves, number of fruits and fresh fruit weight of three varieties (Roma, Roma VF and UC82B) of tomato. The results indicated strong positive correlations with gall indices and strong negative correlations with plant height, number of leaves, number of fruits and fresh fruit weight. The number of galled roots showed high positive direct effects on the gall indices and low positive effects on the fresh fruit weight. There were negative direct effects on the plant height and the number of leaves. The analyses showed that the negative effects on the growth parameters account for the reduction in the yield of the plants.