Microcosm experiments on the development of different plant parasitic nematode fauna in two soils from the Soudanese-Sahelian zone of West Africa

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that the structure of plant parasitic nematode communities is affected by soil characteristics, experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with two soils with different physical and chemical characteristics and land management histories (fallow and a cultivated field) from adjacent plots. The cultivated soil was more sandy and had lower organic matter and nutrient contents than the fallow soil. Four nematode assemblages of Scutellonema cavenessi, Helicotylenchus dihystera and Tylenchorhynchus gladiolatus were inoculated in the soils. The pot experiment was conducted on millet during 2 months. Multiplication rates of H. dihystera were not significantly different in the two soils. T. gladiolatus had a lower multiplication rate in the fine-textured soil. S. cavenessi seemed to reproduce better in the coarse-textured soil when inoculated in low density with H. dihystera. The presence of plant parasitic nematodes in the cultivated soil caused a significant decrease of millet biomass, whereas plants in the fallow soil were less sensitive to nematode damage and were only affected when the soil was inoculated with T. gladiolatus alone. This experiment did not explain the distribution of plant parasitic species observed in the field. However, parameters other than the presence of a favourable host plant and micro-climatic conditions were found to induce differences in the reproductive rates of several species of plant parasitic nematodes.