Reproduction of Three Root-Knot Nematodes on Winter Small Grain Crops. C. H. Opperman, Former Graduate Student, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611. J. R. Rich, and R. A. Dunn. Professor, IFAS, Agricultural Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Live Oak; and Professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611. Plant Dis. 72:869-871. Accepted for publication 7 June 1988. Copyright 1988 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-72-0869.

Survival of Meloidogyne arenaria was compared on wheat and rye in field microplots during the winter cropping season in northern Florida. Small grain cultivars commonly grown in the southern United States were screened against these Meloidogyne spp. in growth room (24–28 C) experiments. None of these species increased in number on either wheat or rye in the microplot experiment, although significantly greater numbers of M. arenaria than either M. incognita or M. javanica were recovered at harvest. In screening experiments, many commercially used small grain cultivars were susceptible to M. arenaria, M. incognita, and M. javanica. Several cultivars, most notably Florida-developed oat cultivars, did not support reproduction of these Meloidogyne spp.

Keyword(s): Avena sativa L., crop rotation, host resistance, root-knot nematode, Secale cereale L., Triticum aestivum L.