Nematocides By K. N. Bio Sciences (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Most of the Nematodae, forming a group of the phylum ringworms (Nemathelminthes), damage mostly the roots of cultivated plants. Injury is manifested in many ways. Free-living root nematodes act as virus vectors and propagate plant viruses. Some nematodes release substances, resulting in the formation of root nodules, cysts, or other growth anomalies. Others damage the host plants by withdrawing plant nutritions from the leaf tissues or produce enzymes that destroy the cell walls. One mode of control of nematodes living in the soil is the application of volatile soil fumigants, the vapors of which attain in the air space of the soil a concentration sufficient to kill them.