Survival and infectivity of Meloidogyne graminicola in flooded and non-flooded soils

Abstract

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to assess the survival and infectivity of the rice root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola) after 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks incubation in flooded and non-flooded soils. Penetration and reproduction of M. graminicola in roots of rice bioassay seedlings changed little after nine weeks incubation in flooded soil. However, reproduction of M. graminicola decreased by 68 to 75% relative to its reproduction at the beginning of the experiment after twelve weeks incubation in flooded soil. By comparison, reproduction of M. graminicola in non-flooded soil declined by 60 to 93 % after six weeks incubation and by 93 to 99% after 12 weeks, relative to its reproduction at the beginning of the experiment. This study demonstrated that survival and infectivity of M. graminicola is significantly greater in flooded soils than in non-flooded soils.