The demand for organic products is increasing because of restrictions on the use of synthetic agrochemicals. In order to verify the effect of antagonistic plants on the control of phytonematodes in the culture of crisphead lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), an experiment was installed at the Federal University of Lavras, between December 2001 and August 2002. The experimental design was of randomized blocks in a factorial scheme with three replications and four treatments. The treatments consisted of black velvet bean (Stizolobium aterrimum), jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and a control plot with spontaneous vegetation. The populations of Meloidogyne spp. and Helicothylenchus dihystera were evaluated using the Jenkins technique. The soil samples used to quantify the nematodes were taken 45 days after seeding the leguminous plants, 30 and 60 days after seeding the crisphead lettuce and 30, 60 and 90 days after planting the cabbage. The incorporation of the black velvet bean and sunn hemp legumes reduced the population of Meloidogyne spp. by 42 and 51%, respectively; in the area previously planted with jack bean, the nematode populations on cabbage were reduced at 90 days.
antagonistic plants; leguminosae; plant disease management
