| Summary: | Research into new nematicides that provide adequate control against root-knot nematodes in a more environment-friendly way is of great interest to vegetable growers. Thus, the effect of fluopyram, a relatively new chemical nematicide, was evaluated against a Swiss population of <i>Meloidogyne incognita</i> in vitro, in soil and as a planting hole treatment for tomato, lettuce and cucumber plants. Fluopyram treatment in vitro revealed LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) ranging from 2.15–0.04 µmol of fluopyram/L after 1–14 days of exposure. However, some nematodes (visually categorized as dead) were able to recover and infect cucumber plants. Fluopyram’s optimal application time appeared to be up to 1 day after planting, with a significant control effect on <i>M. incognita</i> up to 14 days after planting. A root penetration assay showed that only nematodes that remained in the rhizosphere were controlled by fluopyram. Furthermore, fluopyram planting hole treatments on lettuce, tomato and cucumber plants, successfully controlled <i>M. incognita</i> in the root zone under greenhouse conditions. Overall, this study contributes to an optimized application of fluopyram for the control of <i>M. incognita</i> in vegetable crops, highlighting its effectiveness in soil and showing its limitation to control juveniles that have already invaded the root systems of plants.
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