Oral: Nematodes
17-O
Enhanced nematicidal actitivity of abamectin via nanoparticle formulation
R. Guenther (1), C. Opperman (1), J. Zhu (1), D. Lindbo (2), J. Kerns (1), S. Lommel (1), T. Sit (1) (1) North Carolina State University, U.S.A.; (2) USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S.A.
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Abamectin (Abm) has broad nematicidal activity but its usage is limited to seed coatings due to its high affinity for soils. To overcome this limitation, Abm was infused into plant viral nanoparticles (PVNAbm) based on Red clover necrotic mosaic virus, a virus that’s normally transmitted through the soil sans vector. An added benefit of PVNAbm formulation is the increased diffusion rate of Abm through the soil. PVNAbm was found to be stable and have low affinities for soils collected from commercial fields (planted with corn, soybeans and sweet potatoes) in North Carolina even in samples with greater than 3% organic content. PVNAbm was found to increase the duration that Abm is nematicidal by 2-4 fold in comparison to commercial formulations. In sterile and live soil greenhouse testing, PVNAbm provided a 50% reduction in galling and egg quantities per root for tomatoes challenged by root knot nematode (RKN). When applied to turf, PVNAbm is capable of moving Abm below the thatch layer and a single application was found to retain appreciable turf greening when tested on turf infested with sting nematode. Microplot field trials are under way to determine the performance of PVNAbm under different application protocols/conditions and to quantify its effectiveness in reducing RKN/soybean cyst nematode damage in row crops and sting nematode in turf.