Mechanistic elucidation of a terpenoid nano-bionematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato

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Mechanistic elucidation of a terpenoid nano-bionematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes, particularly Meloidogyne incognita, represent a major constraint to global vegetable production and cause substantial yield losses. Although azadirachtin exhibits strong nematicidal potential, its practical application is limited by instability under field conditions. In this study, a terpenoid-based azadirachtin nano-formulation (Terpaz®, TNF) was developed and evaluated through an integrated approach encompassing physicochemical characterization, in vitro bioassays, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, enzyme inhibition assays, root invasion studies, field evaluation, and biosafety assessment. The characterisation of TNF exhibited a nanoscale droplet size (79.69 nm) with narrow PDI (0.17). In vitro assays revealed substantial inhibition of egg hatching (up to 91.3%) and juvenile mortality (up to 88%), outperforming the synthetic nematicide fluopyram at equivalent doses. Molecular docking demonstrated a strong binding affinity of azadirachtin to acetylcholinesterase (AChE, − 5.37 kcal/mol) and ATPase (–4.8 kcal/mol), which was further supported by stable molecular dynamics trajectories. Enzyme assays confirmed dose-dependent inhibition of AChE (65.7%) and ATPase (73.4%) activities, validating the dual-target mechanism. Root penetration studies showed that TNF at 5 mL/L prevented juvenile invasion beyond the epidermis. Field trials demonstrated that TNF significantly suppressed nematode population densities (Pf = 1.5 J2/g soil), reduced galling, and enhanced tomato yield (25,400 kg/acre), outperforming the synthetic nematicide. Importantly, TNF showed no inhibitory effects on beneficial soil microbes. Collectively, this study establishes TNF as an effective, environmentally safe, and multi-targeted bionematicide, offering a promising sustainable alternative for M. incognita management in horticultural crops.

Data availability

All datasets generated during this study are included in this published article and its Supplementary files (Supplementary_file.xlsx). Other specific data will be available made on the reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their sincere appreciation to the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) and IFFCO Nanoventions for their generous provision of materials and financial support that made this research possible.

Funding

This research was funded by IFFCO Nanoventions Private Limited, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India (Project ID -202501).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFFCO Nanoventions Private Limited, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Lakshmanan Arunachalam, Sivashankari Lakshmanan & Shandeep Ganeshan

Authors

  1. Lakshmanan Arunachalam
  2. Sivashankari Lakshmanan
  3. Shandeep Ganeshan

Contributions

Ganeshan Shandeep: Writing—original draft, Software, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation. Sivashankarai Lakshmanan: Writing—review & editing, Supervision, Lakshmanan Arunachalam: Conceptualization, Validation, Supervision, Resources, Methodology, review & editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shandeep Ganeshan.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Permission/ Ethical compliance statement

The field studies did not involve any endangered or protected species; no specific permits were required for the described field studies, and the landowner/farmer permitted these field studies to be carried out. The methods were carried out in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations, and all data in this paper would be available based on the request to authors.

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Arunachalam, L., Lakshmanan, S. & Ganeshan, S. Mechanistic elucidation of a terpenoid nano-bionematicide for the management of root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-41775-x

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