Brassicacea-based management strategies as an alternative to combat nematode pests: A synopsis

• Plant-parasitic nematodes associated with Brassica spp.
• The effects of Brassicaceae crops on plant-parasitic and beneficial/non-parasitic nematodes.
• Nematode management strategies: Biofumigation, green manuring, cover cropping and poor hosts of Brassicaceae.
• Recommendations when using Brassicaceae crops in fields infested with nematode pests.

Nematode pests parasitise and cause substantial crop yield and quality losses to a wide range of crops worldwide. To minimize such damage, the exploitation and development of alternative nematode control strategies are becoming increasingly important, particularly as a result of global efforts to conserve the ozone layer as well as our soil and water substrates. Inclusion of Brassicaceae crops in cropping systems is one such alternative and has been demonstrated in most cases to be effective in managing the top-three rated economically important nematode pests, viz. root-knot (Meloidogyne), cyst (Heterodera and Globodera) and lesion (Pratylenchus) nematodes as well as others. In the past nematode pests were and still are generally managed successfully by the use of synthetically-derived nematicides, which are progressively being removed from world markets. However, fragmented and limited information about the use of Brassicaceae crops as a nematode management tool exists in various countries. The need thus arose to summarize, compare and discuss the vast amount of information that has been generated on this topic in a concise article. This paper therefore represents a comprehensive, practical and critical review of the use and effect(s) of Brassicaceae-based management strategies and the biofumigation and cover-crop/rotation characteristics of Brassicaceae in reducing nematode-pest population levels in global cropping systems.