The suppressive effect of a black oat, Avena strigosa, breeding line KH1a on Meloidogyne spp. was examined in pot tests and on Meloidogyne incognita in pot and field tests. In pot tests, roots of black oats were examined 42-46 days after inoculation of 500 second-stage juveniles. There were significantly fewer egg masses on the roots of KH1a than on 12 black oat cultivars examined. KH1a was a poor host for four isolates of M. incognita, two isolates of M. arenaria and one isolate of M. javanica, and a non-host for one isolate of M. hapla. The effect of autumn and spring cropping of KH1a on soil nematode density was examined in M. incognita-infested fields. Nematode density after autumn cropping of KH1a was significantly lower than that after susceptible black oat, resulting in significantly lower Pf/Pi in KH1a (0.10 and 0.13) than in susceptible black oat (0.42 and 0.74). Damage indices of the succeeding crop, sweet potato, were significantly lower in KH1a plots than in susceptible black oat plots. In spring cropping, there were significantly fewer soil nematodes in KH1a plots than in susceptible black oat plots 3 weeks after cultivation. In both autumn and spring cropping, there was no significant difference in soil nematode density between KH1a and bare fallow. These results suggested that KH1a is a good alternative to current susceptible cultivars for the management of M. incognita.