Water absorbent polymer AIDS in the infestation of field sites with meloidogyne eggs.

The root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) is one of the principal nematode pests of field and vegetable crops in the southern United States (6). Meloidogyne spp. are generally not uniformly distributed in naturally infested field sites, and sites frequently contain more than one species, thus complicating the evaluation of breeding lines for nematode resistance. To facilitate evaluation of nematicides, crop rotation schemes, resistance in plant introduction lines, or nematode damage to plants, a quick method of infesting field sites with inoculum is often necessary. A previous study described a method of applying Meloidogyne spp. eggs in a 0.125% agar suspension injected under pressure 10 cm below the seed row (1); however , with transplanted seedlings, such injection of eggs in the seed row infests a large soil volume where roots do not immediately grow. A technique was developed to artificially infest field sites with defined populations of Meloidogyne spp. by infesting transplant roots. Inoculum was prepared by culturing Meloidogyne spp. on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Rutgers) for 45-55 days in a greenhouse at 20-28 C. Nematode eggs were obtained by shaking infected tomato roots in 0.5% NaOC1 for 4 minutes (4). The