Histopathological Changes Causes by Meloidogyne incognita in Gotukola (Centella asiatica L.)

Abstract

Infection and development of Meloidogyne incognita caused histopathological changes in Centella asiatica in the form of giant cells and root knots. These histopathological changes were observed in microtome sections of at least 10-15 infected root samples. Formation of root knots and different stages of nematode development were examined. Giant cell formation was observed mostly in the vascular region and rarely in cortical region. Groups of two to six giant cells of thick walled multinucleated dense cytoplasm were noted while some giant cells were vacuolated. No relationship was observed between the size of galls and number of giant cells.