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A nematode is considered a common problem, but many gardeners have never heard of it.
Your garden is full of worms, bugs and creepy crawlies that go mostly undetected throughout the year.
It’s only when an insect becomes parasitic, a pest or an infestation that a problem occurs. Nematodes are not very well known insects in the gardening world, that is until they start eating away at roots and ruining your soil.
Let’s take a look at what a nematode actually is, whether they can affect your plants and how to best prevent them.
What are nematodes?
According to Business Queensland, nematodes “are minute, worm-like animals that are very common in soil. They have a wide host range, and cause problems in many annual and perennial crops.”
Although nematodes are not visible to the naked eye, they can still cause a lot of trouble in your garden if not treated carefully.
Not all nematodes are parasitic and problematic, and are a major component to keeping soil healthy and thriving in almost all ecosystems. For humans and animals, The Department of Nematology from UC Riverside explains that main nematodes that present a problem are quite common, such as “pinworms, hookworms, trichina and dog heartworm.”
For plants, the nematodes that can damage the garden are root-knot and lesion nematodes.
Types of nematodes in the garden
There are two main culprits of ‘parasitic nematodes’ that can hurt your fruits and vegies in the garden:
- Root knot nematodes: these are considered to be the most damaging in the garden. This variety enters the root of a plant at it’s larvae stage and forms galls or knots. This leads to a cycle of adult and larvae stage nematodes living in roots and infecting the plant as it grows and spreads. This nematode type can affect over 2000 types of plants.
- Root lesion nematodes: these tend to affect fruit trees, roses and turf the most in home gardens. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in WA explains how “Root lesion nematodes use the stylet to puncture roots and enter the cells. They move through the root, piercing cells, extracting cell contents, and leaving behind a trail of both cell-killing metabolites and eggs.”
What plants do parasitic nematodes affect?
Nematodes most often are noticed in tomato plants, which can be very detrimental to those that love cherry tomato salads and homemade spaghetti sauce.
It can also affect:
- Fruit trees
- Cucumber plants, and other vegetable crops
- Grass and turf lawns
- Roses
- Cereal crops (within agricultural settings)
How to prevent nematodes in your garden
Parasitic nematodes don’t simply appear in your garden soil, instead they are established when soil is already infected or unhealthy.
The most effective way to avoid a nematode infestation is by keeping your soil healthy, happy and thriving. This means regular maintenance, including adding in fertiliser, having natural compost and watering when needed.
Another way to add security to your soil is by actually planting more. There are specific plants that can ward off parasitic nematodes, because they release their own toxins into the soil that can kill them.
The best nematode repellent plants are:
- Painted daisy/Chrysanthemum
- French marigold
- Forage rape
- Canola
Specifically for tomato crops, it may be best to invest in nematode-resistant tomato varieties when picking out your seeds for your next planting.
It is also recommended by Good Gardening expert Jon Lamb to rotate the spots your tomato plants are planted in to avoid the nematode from moving in.
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