| Abstract: | The influence of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood on the competitive relationships between pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Solanum nigrum L. (black nightshade) was investigated in a glasshouse experiment. Seven competition treatments were set up: two intraspecific for the crop and the weed and five interspecific treatments in which the emergence of S. nigrum plants was progressively delayed with respect to that of the pepper. Nematodes reproduced in every inoculated plant and their multiplication rates were high in both pepper and S. nigrum. The parasite reduced all growth and yield parameters of the crop, but did less harm to the weed. The negative effect of S. nigrum on pepper peaked in the treatment in which the weed and pepper plants emerged together. S. nigrum was a stronger competitor than pepper under both nematode-infested and nematode-free conditions. The effect of nematodes on pepper yield was less than that of competition, but both appeared to be additive. |
