Abstract
Plant-parasitic nematodes, especially root-knot nematodes (RKNs) of the genus Meloidogyne, are major agricultural pests, causing crop yield losses of up to 80% in vegetables. Rapid reproduction intensifies soil infestation, and reliance on synthetic nematicides is declining due to environmental and health risks, necessitating sustainable alternatives. This study investigates the nematicidal potential of Carissa carandas L. methanolic seed extract, known for bioactive compounds, against Meloidogyne incognita juveniles (J2) and egg masses. In vitro assays at concentrations of 250, 500, and 1000 ppm demonstrated that the extract significantly increased J2 mortality and inhibited egg hatching in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. At 1000 ppm, the extract caused pronounced nematode anatomical disruptions, with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealing severe structural changes in egg masses. An in-vivo pot experiment assessed C. carandas seed powder against M. incognita on muskmelon cv. ‘Arkasiri’ in a glasshouse setting, comparing its efficacy with Fluopyram, a commercial nematicide. Both treatments, applied 15- and 30-days post-inoculation, markedly improved plant growth parameters and reduced nematode indicators such as root galls and soil nematode populations. At 30 days, C. carandas treatment achieved a 94.26% reduction in root galls, while Fluopyram achieved 96.78%, with the latter showing a 99.10% decrease in nematode populations. GC–MS analysis of the extract identified bioactive compounds, including fatty acids, likely responsible for nematicidal effects. These results indicate that C. carandas seed extract offers a promising, eco-friendly approach for managing M. incognita, supporting plant-based nematicidal development for integrated pest management.
Acknowledgements
The authors are highly thankful to the “Other Backward Classes Cell” (OBC-Cell), University of Mysore, Mysuru, for providing fellowship and the Institution of Excellence (IOE), Vijnana Bhavana, Manasagangotri, Mysuru, for the SEM facility. The authors are thankful to Dr. A. Shanthi, Professor and the Department of Nematology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore—03, Tamil Nadu, for the training program on Basic Nematological Techniques. The authors are also thankful to the Department of Studies in Botany and the Department of Biotechnology, Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysuru.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Consent for publication
We confirm that all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript for submission to the Journal Scientific Reports.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Basavaraj, V., Sharada, M.S., Sampathkumar, M.R. et al. Nematicidal potential of Carissa carandas seed extract against Meloidogyne incognita and identification of its bioactive compounds.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58454-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-58454-6
Keywords
- Nematicidal activity
- Seed extract
- Juvenile mortality
- Egg-hatching
- Ultrastructural changes
- Bioactive compounds
Source: Ecology - nature.com
