Infection of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) by
soybean mosaic potyvirus (SMV) and root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne
incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood, occurs wherever soybean
is grown in Nigeria. The effect of concomitant infections of
four soybean cultivars by SMV (isolate 10) and root-knot
nematode (race 2) was investigated in greenhouse, experimental field
and on-farm studies. Soybean mosaic potyvirus was introduced
into soybean test plants by mechanical inoculation of homogenised
crude extract from infected leaves suspension into a shallow
trench around the base of test plants. In all four soybean
cultivars, simultaneous or successive inoculation with both
the nematode and the virus resulted in more severe symptoms and,
therefore, reduced yield and yield components when compared
with inoculations with each pathogen alone, although the difference
was not much with plants inoculated with virus only. The results
were more variable under experimental field and on-farm
conditions than under more uniform greenhouse conditions.
However, there was a significant interaction (P=0.05) between
inoculation treatments and cultivars. Since multi-pathogen
infections depressed yields more than single infections, more
emphasis should be placed on evaluating or breeding for combined
resistance to both pathogens in soybeans.