REGULAR ARTICLE
Root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) in ornamental plant nurseries – influence of soil texture, acidity, salinity and organic matter content
Aneta Chałańska, Gabriel Łabanowski, Daniel Sas
Commun. Biometry Crop Sci. (2016) 11 (2), 98-104.
ABSTRACT
Root-lesion nematodes are common in ornamental plant nurseries of numerous species.
It is thus important to study whether this groups of nematodes depend on the physico-chemical
properties of the soil assigned for cultivation of ornamental plants. The aim of this research
was to determine relation between Pratylenchus spp. and soil conditions in ornamental plant nurseries
(with conifers, deciduous trees, and shrubs fields) of in Poland. From this study it follows that the
occurence of root-knot nematodes in soils sampled from plant nurseries was associated with physical and
chemical properties of the soil. Nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus, especially P. penetrans,
P. crenatus, P. thornei and P. flakkensis, occurred in low salinity and acidic soils.
Root-lesion nematodes also preferred soils with low organic matter contents.
Pratylenchus penetrans and P. fallax prefered sandy soils with low contents of silt and clay.
In nurseries of ornamental trees and shrubs, most (70%) of the Pratylenchus specimens were
collected from loamy sand soils. Occurrence of Pratylenchus spp. depended on soil pH and texture.
Pratylenchus penetrans mainly occurred in sandy and very acidic soils where deciduous plants were
cultivated whereas P. neglectus and P. crenatus were found in all kinds of studied soils.
Key Words: conifers; deciduous plants; Pratylenchus spp.; soil properties.
