Movement of the entomogenous nematodes of the families heterorhabditidae and steinernematidae in soil.

The entomogenous nematode species Heterorhabditis heliothidis (Kahn, Brooks, and Hirschmann), H. bacteriophora Poinar, Neoaplectana carpocapsae Weiser, and N. glaseri Steiner are promising biological control agents for a broad range of soil-inhabiting insect species (6). Many factors in soil affect nematode survival, movement, and infectivity: Moisture is probably the most important physical factor affecting survival (5,7), whereas movement and infectivity are influenced by soil texture (2,4), presence or absence of a host (1), behavior of the species (8,9), and moisture (3). The objective of this research was to study the comparative movement of H. heliothidis, H. bacteriophora, two strains of N. carpocapsae, and N. glaseri in soil over a 30day period.