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Abstract
Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum) infected with root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne javanica, contain 2.2 to 2.6-times higher levels of the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in the roots and leaves compared with uninfected plants. The nematode-induced increase in the ACC coincides with increased ethylene production in the infected plants. Foliar spray with aminoethoxyvivyl-glycine (AVG), which inhibits ethylene production or with silver thiosulfate (STS) which inhibited ethylene action, partially or completely eliminated the pathogenic symptoms displayed by a nematode-infected plant, indicating that the ethylene induced by the nematode infection plays a major role in the pathogenic symptoms infliced by the nematode. Foliar spray with 3 mM STS 4 to 8 days after the nematode inoculation was found to be the most effective treatment for reversing the nematode infection symptoms.