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Nematode Diseases and Their Management in Crop Plants

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Pest and Disease Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 7194

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet (CFE), Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: nematology; phytopathology; plant parasitic nematodes; Globodera spp.; Meloidogyne spp.; integrated plant management; bionematicides; plant–nematode interaction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

More than 4000 species of nematode are plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs), which affect the quality and quantity of many crops. PPNs attack plants and disrupt their development, causing reductions in crop yield and in the quality of the products. Their control is mainly achieved by means of crop rotation and the use of resistant cultivars, combined with synthetic nematicide application. Even though the use of chemical pesticides is an effective control strategy, this is expensive and legislation is very strict regarding their use in the field, focusing mainly on environmental and health risks. The increase in environmental concerns and regulatory restrictions has led to the urgent need to find alternative control measures that have the same efficacy as chemical nematicides. These alternatives need to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than the methods currently used.

This Special Issue focuses on management methodologies to control nematodes that cause damage to economically important crops and will include interdisciplinary studies including nematology, phytopathology, and pest management studies. Research articles will cover a broad range of fields, such as new technologies to control PPNs in the field and more environmentally and health-friendly management strategies.

Prof. Dr. Isabel Luci Pisa Mata da Conceição
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • crop production
  • crop protection
  • integrated pest management
  • nematode diseases
  • pest control
  • plant-parasitic nematodes

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

22 pages, 912 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Visual and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Assessments to Predict the Yield Tolerance of Wheat Genotypes to Root-Lesion Nematode Pratylenchus thornei
by Neil A. Robinson, Jason G. Sheedy and John P. Thompson
Agronomy 2024, 14(12), 3043; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14123043 - 20 Dec 2024
Viewed by 687
Abstract
Wheat breeding programs have selected genotypes that are tolerant to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei by measuring grain yield in field plots on infested sites. However, quicker methods are desirable to increase the capacity to assess more breeding lines for tolerance without harvesting [...] Read more.
Wheat breeding programs have selected genotypes that are tolerant to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei by measuring grain yield in field plots on infested sites. However, quicker methods are desirable to increase the capacity to assess more breeding lines for tolerance without harvesting grain. Two field experiments, time of sowing 1 (TOS1) and time of sowing 2 (TOS2), were conducted in the subtropical grain region of eastern Australia each year for eight years (sixteen experiments total) to characterize 396 wheat genotypes for tolerance when grown on high population densities of P. thornei. For each experiment, up to two visual tolerance ratings (TRs) and two normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) readings were recorded using a Greenseeker™ during crop growth, and grain yield was obtained at crop maturity. The results showed that both TR and NDVI were predictive of tolerance based on the grain yield of the wheat genotypes. Generally, higher genetic correlations between grain yield and each vegetative assessment method were obtained with TOS2 than with TOS1 each year. The vegetative methods for assessing P. thornei tolerance proved to be valuable surrogates when grain yield was unreliable for germplasms that were agronomically unadapted to the regional environment. Our study established that at high population densities of P. thornei only, NDVI is a high-throughput phenotypic measurement of tolerance that can be used to screen a range of genetically diverse genotypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematode Diseases and Their Management in Crop Plants)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>The relationship between initial density of <span class="html-italic">Pratylenchus thornei</span> and the genetic correlation coefficients between grain yield with either (<b>a</b>) normalized difference vegetation index, y = 0.943 − 287 × (0.387x), R<sup>2</sup> = 0.55, <span class="html-italic">p</span> = 0.011, n = 12, or (<b>b</b>) the tolerance rating (TR) by the experienced trial assessor (ETA), y = 0.8591–61743124 × (0.0545x), R<sup>2</sup> = 0.66, <span class="html-italic">p</span> = 0.003, n = 12.</p>
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<p>Box and whiskers plot of the genetic correlation of grain yield with either NDVI or TR at two times of tolerance assessments in trials with two times of sowing. The upper and lower extremities of the box denote the upper and lower quartile values, respectively. The upper and lower extremities of the whiskers denote the maximum and minimum values. The median is shown as a horizontal line, while the mean is shown as a cross. TOS1 and TOS2 represent the first and second sown experiments each year. NDVI1 and NDVI2 represent normalized difference vegetation readings, and TR1 and TR2, respectively, represent first and second tolerance ratings during the growing season.</p>
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<p>The distribution of the Queensland commercial (QComm) genotypes (n = 60) into the respective tolerance categories (where 1 = very intolerant and 9 = tolerant) derived either from normalized difference vegetation index at two times (NDVI 1 and NDVI2) or tolerance rating at two times (TR1 and TR2) or grain yield. <span class="html-italic">Y</span>-axis: 9 = tolerant, 8 = tolerant to moderately tolerant, 7 = moderately tolerant, 6 = moderately tolerant to moderately intolerant, 5 = moderately intolerant, 4 = moderately intolerant to intolerant, 3 = intolerant, 2 = intolerant to very intolerant, 1 = very intolerant.</p>
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14 pages, 2239 KiB  
Article
Efficiency of Vinasse Application on Root-Knot Nematodes in Soybean
by Maria Lúcia Tiburtino Leite, Fernandes Antonio de Almeida, Wéverson Lima Fonseca, Augusto Matias de Oliveira, Alan Mario Zuffo, Francisco Fernandes Pereira, Francisco de Alcântara Neto, Artur Franco Barreto, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Rezanio Martins Carvalho, Samy A. Marey, Ancélio Ricardo de Oliveira Gondim, Amr H. Hashem, Marcos Renan Lima Leite and Hamada AbdElgawad
Agronomy 2023, 13(11), 2719; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13112719 - 28 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1885
Abstract
Vinasse is not only effectively used in pest control but also creates a conducive environment for the growth of antagonistic microorganisms. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of vinasse applied via soil for the management of root-knot nematodes in soybean culture. [...] Read more.
Vinasse is not only effectively used in pest control but also creates a conducive environment for the growth of antagonistic microorganisms. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of vinasse applied via soil for the management of root-knot nematodes in soybean culture. The experimental design was entirely random, in a factorial scheme (2 × 6), consisting of two species of nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica, under vinasse application at five concentrations (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%) and one control (water), with five repetitions. Soybean plants Intacta cv. M-Soy 8644 IPRO were inoculated with 4000 eggs/juveniles of each species separately. At 60 days after the first application of vinasse, evaluations of parasitism and agronomic characteristics in soybean were performed. Stillage resulted in the highest average values for root volume and root fresh mass in plants inoculated with M. incognita, showing respective increases of 24.33% and 14.92% compared to plants inoculated with M. javanica. However, concentrations exceeding 60% had a detrimental effect on all agronomic variables of soybean. For parasitism, an interaction among the factors was observed, with a significant effect (p < 0.01) for most of the evaluated variables, except for the number of eggs in the soil. The concentration equivalent to 60% vinasse promoted a sharp reduction in parasitism for the two nematode species, making reproduction on plant roots unfeasible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematode Diseases and Their Management in Crop Plants)
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<p>Average values for the agronomic variables of soybean plants inoculated with <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span> and <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span> in relation to the concentrations of vinasse. Averages followed by the same letter among <span class="html-italic">Meloidogyne</span> species do not exhibit statistically significant differences as determined by Tukey’s test at 5% probability.</p>
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<p>Root length (<b>A</b>), root volume (<b>B</b>), and root fresh mass (<b>C</b>) of soybean plants, according to the concentrations of vinasse in the management of <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span> and <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span>. ** Significant at 1%.</p>
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<p>Average values for the parasitism variables of <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span> and <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span> in soybean plants in relation to the concentrations of vinasse. Averages followed by the same letter among <span class="html-italic">Meloidogyne</span> species do not exhibit statistically significant differences as determined by Tukey’s test at 5% probability.</p>
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<p>Number of juveniles in root (<b>A</b>), nematodes per gram of root (<b>B</b>), number of juveniles in soil (<b>C</b>), number of galls on roots (<b>D</b>), number of eggs in root (<b>E</b>), and number of eggs in soil (<b>F</b>) of <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span> and <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span> in soya plants, depending on the nematode species and concentrations of vinasse. ** Significant at 1%.</p>
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<p>Reproduction factor of <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span> and <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span> in soybean plants, according to nematode species and vinasse concentrations ** significant at the 1% level.</p>
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<p>Graphical representation of the canonical discriminant analysis (canonical variables Can1 and Can2) of the soybean agronomic variables: root length (RL), root volume (RV), and root fresh mass (RFM) and of the parasitism variables of <span class="html-italic">M. incognita</span>: juveniles in root (JR), juveniles in soil (JS), number of galls (NG), eggs in root (ER), eggs in soil (ES), reproduction factor (RF), as a function of vinasse concentrations (%).</p>
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<p>Graphical representation of the canonical discriminant analysis (canonical variables Can1 and Can2) of the soybean agronomic variables root length (RL), root volume (RV), and root fresh mass (RFM) and of the parasitism variables of <span class="html-italic">M. javanica</span> nematodes per gram of root (NGR), juveniles in soil (JS), number of galls (NG), eggs in root (ER), eggs in soil (ES), and reproduction factor (RF) as a function of vinasse concentration (%).</p>
Full article ">

Review

Jump to: Research

30 pages, 2537 KiB  
Review
Current Trends and Future Prospects in Controlling the Citrus Nematode: Tylenchulus semipenetrans
by Anil Baniya, Omar Zayed, Jiranun Ardpairin, Danelle Seymour and Adler R. Dillman
Agronomy 2025, 15(2), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020383 - 31 Jan 2025
Viewed by 489
Abstract
Citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans) is one of the dominant plant-parasitic nematodes in citrus-growing regions, resulting in an average yield loss between 10 and 30%. Tylenchulus semipenetrans is a sedentary semi-endoparasitic nematode that infects the roots of citrus trees, causing stunted growth, [...] Read more.
Citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans) is one of the dominant plant-parasitic nematodes in citrus-growing regions, resulting in an average yield loss between 10 and 30%. Tylenchulus semipenetrans is a sedentary semi-endoparasitic nematode that infects the roots of citrus trees, causing stunted growth, reduced fruit yield, and poor fruit quality; collectively this pathology and thus the disease caused is referred to as the slow decline of citrus. Despite its huge importance, the citrus nematode is regarded as a neglected parasite, and most research focuses on biological control and integrated pest management. Advancements in understanding the molecular mechanisms of other plant-parasitic nematodes, such as sedentary endoparasites with biological similarities to citrus nematodes, can be leveraged to gain deeper insights into the molecular mechanisms of citrus nematodes. In this review, we examine the biology, and integrated pest management of citrus nematodes, and explore future research directions toward understanding the role of genomics, gene-editing tools, and the molecular mechanisms of host-seeking and effectors used by other plant-parasitic nematodes to cause infection, which can serve as a foundation for future work in citrus nematode management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematode Diseases and Their Management in Crop Plants)
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Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>The generalized life cycle of <span class="html-italic">T. semipenetrans</span>. Eggs are deposited in the soil or in egg masses. First-stage juveniles (J1) inside the eggs molt into second-stage juveniles (J2), hatch, and search for the host plant. Second-stage juveniles find the citrus roots and enter the root. The female J2 molts into the J3 and J4 stages and finally into the sedentary female. Female juveniles develop into mature females by feeding on the epidermis and outer layers of the cortical parenchyma in roots. As the immature female grows, it starts to penetrate the outer surface of the root and reaches the deeper cortical layers, though it typically does not reach the central cylinder, and sometimes the endodermis. Once settled, it establishes a permanent feeding site made up of specialized cells known as nurse cells, which provide essential nutrients. A mature female has a swollen posterior part of its body and protrudes from the root surface, while its elongated neck and head remain embedded in the cortex. Males, however, undergo the third stage of molting before departing from the egg mass, and they can reach adulthood within a week without feeding. Fully grown females produce eggs that are enclosed in a gelatinous matrix. The entire life cycle of the female, from egg-to-egg production, spans from four to eight weeks [<a href="#B33-agronomy-15-00383" class="html-bibr">33</a>].</p>
Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Different receptors and ion channels are used by plant-parasitic nematodes to sense their environment. The figure was created using <a href="http://Biorender.com" target="_blank">Biorender.com</a>.</p>
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<p>A summary of the general behavior of plant-parasitic nematodes toward plant extracts, attractants, and repellants that determine the interaction between PPN and their host plants. The top box in the figure illustrates the various cues nematodes use for sensing hosts over long and short distances. The middle box presents different plant-associated repellents, while the bottom box highlights various chemicals that serve as nematode attractants. The figure was created using <a href="http://Biorender.com" target="_blank">Biorender.com</a>.</p>
Full article ">Figure 4
<p>Overview of nematode-associated molecular patterns (NAMP) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMP) induced by nematodes in the plant because of nematode infection. The image illustrates the various enzymes secreted by nematodes to initiate plant infection, as well as the different receptors that recognize these enzymes and activate pathogen-triggered immunity in response.</p>
Full article ">Figure 5
<p>Overview of characterized plant-parasitic nematode effectors and their plant targets. Effectors are secreted by the nematode’s stylet either into the apoplast or directly into the cytoplasm of the host cell. Several effectors target plants, influencing the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels or their subsequent reactions. some groups of effectors possess nuclear localization signals, enabling them to migrate to the nucleus of the feeding site. They can transport plant targets to the nucleus or interact with plant targets already present in the nucleus, thereby altering host responses. In certain interactions, the effectors target plant proteins associated with pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI) or effector-triggered immunity (ETI). The figure was created using Biorender.com.</p>
Full article ">
16 pages, 2490 KiB  
Review
Predacious Strategies of Nematophagous Fungi as Bio-Control Agents
by Mati Ur Rahman, Peng Chen, Xiuyu Zhang and Ben Fan
Agronomy 2023, 13(11), 2685; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13112685 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3240
Abstract
Plant-parasitic nematodes significantly threaten agriculture and forestry, causing various diseases. They cause annual losses of up to 178 billion dollars worldwide due to their parasitism. Nematophagous fungi (NF) are valuable in controlling or reducing parasitic nematode diseases by killing nematodes through predatory behavior. [...] Read more.
Plant-parasitic nematodes significantly threaten agriculture and forestry, causing various diseases. They cause annual losses of up to 178 billion dollars worldwide due to their parasitism. Nematophagous fungi (NF) are valuable in controlling or reducing parasitic nematode diseases by killing nematodes through predatory behavior. This article summarizes the strategic approaches adopted by NF to capture, poison, or consume nematodes for food. NF are classified based on their attacking strategies, including nematode trapping, endoparasitism, toxin production, and egg and female parasitism. Moreover, extracellular enzymes such as serine proteases and chitinases also play an important role in the fungal infection of nematodes by disrupting nematode cuticles, which act as essential virulence factors to target the chemical constituents comprising the nematode cuticle and eggshell. Based on the mentioned approaches, it is crucial to consider the mechanisms employed by NF to control nematodes focused on the use of NF as biocontrol agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nematode Diseases and Their Management in Crop Plants)
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<p>Representative types of nematophagous fungi from different taxonomical groups and their infection structures [<a href="#B25-agronomy-13-02685" class="html-bibr">25</a>].</p>
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<p>Mode of action of nematophagous fungi.</p>
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<p>Different morphological structures used by predatory fungi for capturing nematodes. (<b>A</b>) Adhesive branches (adhesive column [<a href="#B74-agronomy-13-02685" class="html-bibr">74</a>]), (<b>B</b>) adhesive hyphae network [<a href="#B75-agronomy-13-02685" class="html-bibr">75</a>], (<b>C</b>) adhesive knob [<a href="#B76-agronomy-13-02685" class="html-bibr">76</a>], (<b>D</b>) constricting ring, and (<b>E</b>) non-constricting ring [<a href="#B77-agronomy-13-02685" class="html-bibr">77</a>].</p>
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<p>The nematode egg- and female-parasitic fungi and their infection modes.</p>
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<p>General representation of nematophagous fungi’s enzymes against cuticle, females, and eggs.</p>
Full article ">
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