Volatile organic compounds for the control of Meloidogyne exigua in Coffea arabica

Abstract

Meloidogyne exigua is a plant-parasitic nematode that causes great losses to coffee farmers. Thus, to contribute to the development of new products to control this parasite, the present work studied the effect of volatile organic compounds (VOC) on the nematode and coffee plants (Coffea arabica), since these compounds are known to be used in plant defense against other agronomical pests. The number of galls of M. exigua was reduced when the aerial part of coffee plants was sprayed with combinations of methyl jasmonate + jasmone, (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol + (E)-hex-3-en-1-ol + (Z)-hex-2-en-1-ol + (E)-hex-2-enal, (E)-hex-2-enyl acetate + hexyl acetate, meso-butane-2,3-diol + butane-1,2-diol + butane-1,3-diol + butane-1,4-diol, 3-hydroxybutan-2-one + 4-hydroxybutan-2-one or linalyl acetate + nerolidol. These VOC also caused alterations in the concentrations of substances such as alkaloids, phenols, amino acids and carbohydrates, in the roots of coffee plants. The findings suggest that these VOC may be explored as potential products for the control of M. exigua in coffee plants.