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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #101720
Title: MILKWEED PLANT PARTS CONTAIN NEMATICIDAL COMPOUNDS

Author
item MOJTAHEDI, H - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item FRIES, R - NATURAL FIBERS
item SANTO, G - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV
item Holser, Ronald
item Harry O Kuru, Rogers
item Vaughn, Steven
item Abbott Dr, Thomas

Submitted to: Industrial Crops and Products International Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/15/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, is a new crop being produced for its fiber in pillows and comforts. As the volume of harvested seed and crop trash grows, new uses are sought for the crop to be fully successful economically. Green shoots, pod shell, a mixture of pod shell and trash, and seedmeal were evaluated as possible soil amendment to control Meloidogyne chitwoodi. Nematode infested soil was amended with milkweed plant parts at 0.5 to 4% by weight and bioassayed on tomato for 3 wk. Tomato roots were stained and numbers of infective nematodes were determined. All plant parts significantly (P < 0.5) reduced number of infective M. chitwoodi and injured the bioassay tomato plants. The most potent plant part was pod shell, followed by seedmeal, green shoots and crop trash. Since defatted seadmeal was still active, it seems that the oil in milkweed seed is not responsible for nematode kill.