Furfural-biochar-based formulations show synergistic and potentiating effects against Meloidogyne incognita in tomato

The nematicidal activity of furfural, biochar and urea on plant-parasitic nematodes is rather well documented and approved; however, there is no information about combination treatment with those anti-nematode agents. We tested the nematicidal effect of combinations that paired furfural and biochar (F0B, F2.5B, F5B and F10B) or biochar-coated urea (F0BCU, F8.25BCU, F16.5BCU and F33BCU) to the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita (RKN) in the absence and presence of tomato plant, and characterized their possible mode of action. After biochar or BCU being paired with furfural, the accompanying effect of FB or FBCU, at all their application rates, resulted in superior control of RKN to that obtained when each component was applied individually. All applied levels of furfural-biochar-based formulations significantly inhibited RKN criteria compared to untreated control. Specifically, the FBCU formulation showed more synergistic interactions and greater nematicidal activity than FB on RKN. Nevertheless, the potentiating effect was the most common interaction between furfural and biochar with FB formulations on RKN. Despite their nematicidal activity, the applied furfural-biochar-based formulations were favorable to tomato growth and free-living nematodes when containing furfural at rates < 1.0 g kg(-1) soil. In SEM study, the cuticle surface of J (2) incubated in FBCU extracts for 12 h lost its normal aspect showing crimped appearance with distorted anus. In conclusion, the FBCU combination could be a sound alternate method of RKN control as it may reduce the cost of individual application of its inner components and thereby increase the net profit of economic crops.