Will marigolds prevent rootknot nematodes from invading my garden?
A. The French marigold, tagetes patula, has helped reduce rootknot populations when used as a trap crop. A trap crop is planted in an area where nothing else is growing. This practice reduces nematodes. However, nematodes still prefer vegetables such as tomatoes, as a host plant instead of marigolds. One drawback to planting marigolds in the garden is they attract other destructive pests such as spidermites into the garden that can be hard to control. Q.
