Australasian Plant Pathology Society

 
  Nematodes   
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Nematodes are microscopic worms, and huge numbers live in the soil. Some feed on roots and cause crop damage but most are beneficial, regulating numbers of other soil organisms and ensuring that nutrients are available to plants.

This educational website provides a science-based overview of one of the most important groups of organisms in soil.  It focuses on nematodes in the Australian environment and should interest a wide audience.

  • Farmers with crops that are underperforming due to nematode damage
  • Consultants who provide farmers with advice on disease problems
  • Land managers who would like to improve the health of their soils
  • Students with an interest in biology, agriculture, ecology, or the soil environment
  • People who wish to gain a better understanding of the below-ground ecosystem

 

The Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) is providing fact sheets on nematodes in the hope that it will stimulate interest in a group of soil organisms that has largely been ignored by the tertiary education sector in Australia.

This website was established in March 2023 by Dr Graham Stirling. If you notice a mistake, would like to comment on a fact sheet, contribute a new fact sheet, or require help with any nematological issue, please contact him:

graham.stirling@biolcrop.com.au

   
     
Contents

History of Australian nematology Life history, biology, and ecology of plant-parasitic nematodes.
  • PSN 055. Identification of plant-parasitic nematodes to genus level
  • PSN 001. Feeding habits of plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 002. Life history of root-knot nematode: Australia’s most important nematode pest
  • PSN 003. Root-knot nematode: distribution, ecology, and damage thresholds
  • PSN 029. Economically important cyst nematodes (Heterodera and Globodera) in Australia
  • PSN 028. Root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus): An underrated pest of many Australian crops
  • PSN 034. Ectoparasitic plant-parasitic nematodes known to cause crop damage in Australia
  • PSN 031. Reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis), a damaging pest of many crops in tropical and subtropical regions of Australia
Plant-parasitic nematodes on specific crops
  • PSN 036. Burrowing nematode (Radopholus similis), the most important nematode pest of banana in Australia
  • PSN 032. Citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans), the cause of slow decline of citrus
  • PSN 030. Cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae), a serious pest of cereals in Australia’s southern and western wheatbelt
  • PSN 033. Root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.): damaging pests of cereals and other grain crops in all grain-growing regions of Australia
  • PSN 005. Nematode pests of sweetpotato: root-knot nematode and reniform nematode
  • PSN 037. Plant-parasitic nematodes on sugarcane
  • PSN 048. Nematode pests of grapevines in Australia
  • PSN 049. The role of nematode pests in replant diseases of tree fruit and nut crops
  • PSN 027. Southern sting nematode (Ibipora lolii), the most damaging nematode pest of turfgrass in Australia
  • PSN 035. Plant-parasitic and free-living nematodes in soils under pasture in Australia
Nematode management
  • PSN 004. Monitoring as a tool for managing root-knot nematode
  • PSN 011. Integrated Nematode Management
  • PSN 012. Integrated Soil Biology Management
  • PSN 042. Diagnosis of problems caused by plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 059. Diagnosis of potential nematode problems in perennial horticultural crops
  • PSN 020. Diagnosis of disease problems in turfgrass caused by plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 056. Nematode-free planting material: An important component of an integrated nematode management program
  • PSN 038. Management of plant-parasitic nematodes on sugarcane
  • PSN 006. Soil fumigation: Does it have a future as a nematode control tactic?
  • PSN 007. A new generation of non-volatile nematicides: their safety and efficacy
  • PSN 045. Do nematicides have a place in modern Integrated Nematode Management programs?
  • PSN 018. Microbial pesticides and biostimulants: Are they useful against soilborne pests and pathogens?
  • PSN 013. Enhancing the nematode-suppressive capacity of soils used for vegetable production
  • PSN 021. Management of plant-parasitic nematodes on turfgrass
  • PSN 015. The benefits of crop rotation and cover cropping in vegetable production systems
  • PSN 014. Organic inputs to improve soil health and reduce losses from nematode pests in vegetable crops
  • PSN 016. Weed and volunteer control plays an important role in reducing losses from root-knot nematode in vegetable crops
  • PSN 050. Resistant and tolerant cultivars and rootstocks: One of the most sustainable options for reducing losses from plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 057. Biofumigation: is it a useful tactic for reducing losses caused by plant-parasitic nematodes in vegetable crops?
  • PSN 058. Non-sustainable methods of nematode control: Intensive tillage, solarisation, bare fallowing and soil fumigation
Biological control of nematodes
  • PSN 008. Pasteuria penetrans, a beneficial bacterium that reduces root-knot nematode populations in perennial crops
  • PSN 019. Pasteuria: a host-specific bacterial parasite of plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 010. Nematophagous fungi
  • PSN 041. Biological control options for plant-parasitic nematodes: Bionematicides or a consortium of natural enemies acting together in a healthy soil?
Nematode biosecurity in Australia
  • PSN 040. Meloidogyne enterolobii: a major threat to vegetables and other crops in Australia
  • PSN 046. Soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines), a pest that is not present in Australia but is a serious threat to soybean and other legume crops
  • PSN 051. Reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis): A biosecurity threat to cotton, vegetable and horticultural industries in tropical and subtropical regions of Australia.
  • PSN 052. The continuing spread of southern sting nematode (Ibipora lolii): one of the best examples of biosecurity failure in Australia
  • PSN 053. Biosecurity measures to reduce the spread of Potato cyst nematode in Australia
Free-living nematodes
  • PSN 023. Free-living and other beneficial nematodes: An important component of the soil biological community
  • PSN 054. Identification of free-living nematodes for ecological studies. An introductory booklet
Soil health and the soil biological community
  • PSN 009. The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in sustaining plant and soil health
  • PSN 017. Towards more sustainable vegetable production systems
  • PSN 047. Ecosystem services provided by soil arthropods play a key role in keeping soils healthy
  • PSN 024. Nematodes: one of the most useful indicators of a soil’s biological status
  • PSN 025. Nematode community analysis: one of the best methods of comparing the biological status of various soils
  • PSN 026. Key plant and soil management practices to improve soil health and enhance sustainability
  • PSN 039. Legume crops to improve soil health and reduce losses from nematode pests in sugarcane
  • PSN 060. Earthworms and Enchytraeidae: vital components of a healthy soil
Research opportunities
  • PSN 022. Development of non-chemical controls for plant-parasitic nematodes on turfgrass: Research requirements
  • PSN 061. Opportunities for research on Pasteuria, a potentially useful biocontrol agent of plant-parasitic nematodes
  • PSN 062. Potential research projects on organic amendments for nematode suppression
  • PSN 063. Are recently developed nematicides detrimental to the soil biological community? Research requirements
Further reading on plant and soil nematodes, and soil biological health
  • PSN 044. Two useful books on integrated management of plant-parasitic nematodes on various crops
  • PSN 043. Further reading: soil health, soil biology and sustainable agriculture