Disease Note

First Report of the Columbia Root-knot Nematode (Meloidogyne chitwoodi) in Virginia. J. D. Eisenback, E. L. Stromberg, and M. S. McCoy, Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 24061.  Plant Disease 70:801, 1986.  Accepted for publication 16 April 1986.  Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-801a.

Meloidogyne chitwoodi Golden, O'Bannon, Santo & Finley was isolated from winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) roots and soil from Westmoreland County in eastern Virginia on 4 December 1985.  The previous crop was corn (Zea mays L.), a known host for this nematode.  The barley plants were stunted and chlorotic and the leaves were colonized heavily by Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc. in Sorok.) Shoemaker, the causal agent of leaf blotch.  The rootlets had very small galls (1–2 mm) containing female root-knot nematodes.  Species identification was based on perineal patterns, head shapes of males, and stylets of females, males, and second-stage juveniles.  To our knowledge, this is the first record of this nematode occurring in the eastern United States.  The previously known distribution of M. chitwoodi includes Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and Colorado in the United States and Estado de México in México.

Reference: A. M. Golden et al. J. Nematol. 12:319, 1980.