Plant Parasitic Nematodes

Plant parasitic nematodes can be highly damaging to crops and reduce yields. Aboveground symptoms of nematode damage in a field include:

• patches of poor growth/yield,
• high incidence of soilborne diseases
• stunting, yellowing, wilting, or dying plants

Below ground signs and symptoms include:

• stubby roots
• root proliferation or abnormal branching
• stunted roots, root rot
• the presence of galls (root-knot nematode) or cysts (soybean cyst nematode) on the roots

Approaches to management of nematodes depend on the types and numbers of nematodes present, so sampling fields for nematodes is a necessary first step in developing a management strategy. Soil can be submitted to our lab for either a diagnostic or a predictive nematode assay. Diagnostic assays are performed with the purpose of identifying the cause of poor growth in the current crop. Predictive nematode assays are performed to determine the risk of next year’s crop being impacted by nematodes. The processing of the two types of samples is identical, but procedures for sampling and interpretation of results differ.  To learn more about plant parastic nematodes and sampling procedures, please visit our resources below.