Temporal variation in abundance of nematodes in a banana plantation of West Bengal, India

Authors

  • V. V. Gantait
  • T. Bhattacharya
  • A. Chatterjee

Abstract

An ecological investigation was undertaken in a banana plantation of West Bengal, India, from March 2004 to February 2006 during which fourteen species of soil and plant parasitic nematodes were collected and identified. Of these, eight species belonged to the order Dorylaimida and six to the order Tylenchida. They exhibited a bimodal pattern of population fluctuation with a prominent peak during August or September and a low peak during March. Likewise, there were two minima, one during January and another in May or June. Nematode populations increased after rainfall but declined during the post-monsoon period and remained at a low level during winter. During early spring, populations again increased but declined in summer. Temporal variation of the nematode population was statistically correlated with the edaphic factors temperature, moisture, pH and organic carbon. Simple correlation analysis revealed that the abundances of all the species were significantly correlated with moisture and organic carbon. Soil temperature was significantly correlated with the abundance of only three species. Soil pH was negatively and significantly correlated with that of all the species. Multiple regression revealed that all the edaphic factors had a significant influence on the abundance of all the nematode species, except two viz., Laimydorus siddiqii and Pratylenchus coffeae. Canonical Correspondence Analysis further proved this finding.

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Published

2011-06-15

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Articles