HOST STATUS OF ACRICULTURALLY IMPORTANT PLANT FAMILES TO THE ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE <I>MELODOGYNE MAYAGUENSIS</I> IN CUBA

Abstract

Rodriguez, M. G., L. Sanchez, and J. Rowe. 2003. Host Status of agriculturally important plant families to the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne mayaguensis in Cuba. Nematropica 33:125-130. Meloidogyne mayaguensis is a major pest of coffee in Cuba and has been reported parasitising plants from several families in Africa. Three populations of M. mayaguensis, one indigenous to Cuba, the type population from Puerto Rico and one from the Ivory Coast were studied. They were identified by biochemical tests and morphology. The main objective of this study was to determine the relative host status of thirty-two agriculturally important crops, including coffee, are susceptible to the rootknot nematode, M. mayaguensis. The results obtained from plants grown under controlled greenhouse conditions at 25°C in pots for 12 weeks indicated that all of the solanaceous plants tested were susceptible, including one variety of tomato containing the Mi gene; about a third of the plants evaluated were non-hosts. Information from this initial test will enable additional field studies to be undertaken to give a true assessment of host status.