Abstract
The attraction of Allodorylaimus americaus towards excised (cut into two pieces) and non-excised (live) individuals of plant parasitic nematodes viz., Tylenchorhynchus mashhoodi, Hoplolaimus indicus, Helicotylenchus indicus, Hirschmanniella oryzae, Xiphinema americanum and Hemicriconemoides mangiferae used as prey were tested in a Petri dish. A. americanus responded positively and significantly to prey kairomones but showed variation in their individual behaviour. A. americanus was most attracted towards excised individuals of T. mashhoodi. The differential responses of A. americanus towards different prey were attributed to the inert behaviour of the predator, their preference for a particular species of prey, chemical composition, concentration, quality, quantity of prey attractant, formation of minimum perceptible attraction gradient of prey and minimum response threshold of predators. Different factors such as temperature, period of prey incubation, prey density, starvation of predators, agar concentration, and agar thickness governed the attraction responses of the predator. A. americanus responded maximally towards T. mashhoodi, when tested as 5-day starved predators in agar plates containing a 2 mm thick layer of 1% water-agar with 200 prey individuals previously incubated for 16 h at 30°C.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
