The invention concerns the use of certain compounds related to fatty acids to
control nematodes that infest plants or the situs of plants. Nematodes parasitizing
animals can also be controlled using the methods and composition of this invention.
The useful compounds are inhibitors of nematode delta-12 fatty acid desaturases
and can be, for example, from C16 to C20 in length. A feature of these compounds
is that their inhibitory effect on the activity of a nematode delta-12 desaturase,
or on the viability or fecundity of a nematode, is smaller in the presence of the
product of a delta-12 fatty acid desaturase (e.g., linoleate) than in the presence
of the substrate of the enzyme (e.g., oleate).
