Disease Note

First Report of the Northern Root-knot Nematode on Sainfoin in the United States. F. A. Gray, Department of Plant Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071. D. S. Wofford, Department of Plant Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071, and G. D. Griffin, USDA-ARS Crops Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan 84321. Plant Dis. 70:694. Accepted for publication 21 February 1986. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-694b.

The northern root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla Chitwood) was found on the sanfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) cultivar Eski in southeastern Wyoming in May 1982. Symptoms on infected plants included mild chlorosis, severe stunting, dieback, and severe root galling. Root galls were typical of those reported on greenhouse-grown sainfoin infected with M. hapla (1). Depletion of a 1-yr-old stand of Eski was attributed to M. hapla. Roots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants of the cultivar Ladak, located in a adjacent field, were less severely galled and top growth appeared unaffected. The soil in the field was a sandy loam. Pathogenicity of M. hapla on seedlings and mature plants of Eski was confirmed by inoculation experiments conducted in the greenhouse. Although M. hapla has been reported on field-grown sainfoin in Canada (2), we believe this is the first report of the nematode on field-grown sainfoin in the United States.