Effects of Pratylenchus vulnus on the growth of sour orange.

Pratylenchus vulnus suppressed the growth of sour orange seedlings in greenhouse experiments. Growth retardation (in height, in trunk diameter, and in dry top and root weights) was observed in inoculated plants growing in two soil types. Population density, 13 months after inoculation, averaged more than 1,000 specimens/gm of fresh root. Anatomical studies showed that P. vulnus prefers to attack the cortex and causes cavities among the cortical cells.