Brinjal (eggplant, Solanum melongena L.) is a major vegetable crop in Pakistan and a key source of income and nutrition for smallholder farmers in many agro-ecologies. Among the biotic constraints limiting brinjal productivity, root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are particularly damaging: they induce root galls, reduce root function, impair water and nutrient uptake, increase susceptibility to secondary soilborne pathogens, and often cause substantial yield losses in solanaceous crops worldwide (Uddin et al., 2023). Field surveys and regional studies across South Asia indicate that Meloidogyne spp. are well established on eggplant and other vegetable hosts, with variable spatial incidence linked to cropping history, soil texture and management practices (Tariq-Khan et al., 2020). Accurate, local information on the distribution, infestation levels and effective management practices is essential for designing appropriate integrated pest management (IPM) packages for farmers. Recent investigations emphasize a combination of tactics — including resistant or tolerant cultivars, crop rotation with non-hosts, soil amendments, biological antagonists and selective chemical nematicides — because single interventions rarely provide lasting control under intensive vegetable production (Meel & Saharan, 2024; Khalil & El-Dein, et al., 2022). Biological control agents such as nematophagous fungi (for example Paecilomyces/Purpureocillium spp.) have received renewed attention due to their ability to parasitize eggs and reduce nematode reproduction, and several greenhouse and field studies report significant gall and egg-mass reductions when fungal antagonists are properly applied (Saleh et al., 2023)