Methods are described for rearing large quantities of Ditylenchus dipsaci on alfalfa tissues. Nematodes and alfalfa seed were disinfected and nematodes were reared in quantities sufficient to provide a continuous supply of inoculum for our alfalfa-breeding program. Nematodes reproduced best in darkness at 20-25 C. Cultures reached maximum numbers in 3-6 wk.

The effects of abamectin B1, diazinon, and methiocarb insecticides on Aphelenchoides fragariae and Ditylenchus dipsaci in Lamium maculatum, Phlox subulata, Rhododendron indicum, and Begonia x tuberhybrida were determined in a series of greenhouse experiments. Abamectin at 0.005 or 0.011 g a.i./liter (0.3 or 0.6 ml/liter Avid 0.15 EC), diazinon at 0.62 or 1.87 g a.i./liter (2.6 or 7.8 ml/liter K...

The host suitability to Ditylenchus destructor of seven common weed species in peanut (Arachis hypogaea) fields in South Africa was determined. Based on the number of nematodes per root unit, white goosefoot (Chenopodium album), feathertop chloris (Chloris virgata), purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus), jimson weed (Datura stramonium), goose grass (Eleusine indica), khaki weed (Tagetes minuta), a...

The anhydrobiotic plant-parasitic nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci undergoes a decrease in permeability (the permeability slump) during the early stages of desiccation and this produces the slow rate of water loss necessary for its survival. There were no changes in annulation spacing, followed in individual nematodes by confocal microscopy, that would account for the permeability slump. Nile Red s...

During searches for pathogens to be used as classical biocontrol agents for Miconia calvescens (velvet tree), a devastating plant invader of Hawaii and French Polynesia, damaging angular leaf spots were found repeatedly. The etiological agent of this disease was identified as the nematode Ditylenchus drepanocercus. This nematode has a distinctive falciform appendage at the apex of the tail on b...

Pratylenchus penetrans and Ditylenchus dipsaci were reared at 15-16 C, and their behavior towards single and combined heat and CO stimuli was studied at ambient temperatures of 8.6 and 27.3 C. At the lower temperature, attractivity of the heat source was prevalent in both species, but CO was also attractive. At the higher ambient temperature (27.3 C), the reaction to CO was more positive and mo...

Population dynamics of A. ritzemabosi and D. dipsaci were studied in two alfalfa fields in Wyoming. Symptomatic stem-bud tissue and root-zone soil from alfalfa plants exhibiting symptoms of D. dipsaci infection were collected at intervals of 3 to 4 weeks. Both nematodes were extracted from stem tissue with the Baermann funnel method and from soil with the sieving and Baermann funnel method. Soi...