Management of the Antagonistic Potential in Agricultural Ecosystems for the Biological Control of Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Abstract

Management of the antagonistic potential in agricultural ecosystems is an attempt to use integrated crop production techniques to increase the activity of a specific antagonist or a group of antagonists in soil--either naturally occurring or introduced-for biological control of plant parasitic nematodes or diseases. This approach differs from the contemporary emphasis among nematologists and plant pathologists on the inundative release of antagonists for biological control. Experience from different scientific fields is used to develop concepts and strategies to manage specific antagonists in the soil. The complex nature of the subject matter has severely limited the depth of coverage. Detailed reviews of topics related to individual antagonists of nematodes have been published elsewhere (12, 38, 62, 67, 70, 71, 89, 113, 121, 122, 130, 131, 133, 145, 150, 160, 161). My goals are threefold: to stimulate interest in the management of naturally occurring antagonists for biological control as opposed to the inundative release approach; to propose possible standard and innovative plant produc-