Nematode Genera Associated with Selected Vegetable Crops in a Tropical Region

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A survey was conducted in a tropical region under continuous crop production for more than a century in the Dominican Republic, to determine the incidence of nematode genera in the soil and in tomato, eggplant, okra, carrot, cabbage, onion, Sweetpotato, squash, and cucumber roots. Typical crop sequences in the region were tomato, eggplant, or beans, followed by either corn, sorghum, cassava, squash or Sweetpotato, followed by either onion, carrot or cabbage, all the crops being grown with medium to high agrichemical input levels. The genera Meloidogyne, Rotylenchulus, Pratylenchus, Aphelenchus, Helicotylenchus, Tylenchus, and Criconemoides were found in soil and/or crop root samples. Meloidogyne was the most prevalent genus in the soil (41% of the samples) and in roots of squash, cucumber, tomato, Sweetpotato, and carrot (50% of the samples). Rotylenchulus was found in 27% of the soil samples, and in 33% of the tomato, okra, and carrot root samples. Aphelenchus was isolated from 2.5% of the eggplant, onion, and cabbage root samples, and from 11% of the soil samples. Pratylenchus was found only in cucumber roots (13% of the samples) and soil samples (10%). Helicotylenchus, Tylenchus, and Criconemoides were isolated from soil (5%, 4%, and 1% of the samples, respectively), but were not found in crop roots. The incidence of Meloidogyne, Rotylenchulus, Pratylenchus, and Aphelenchus tended to be higher in plots where cucurbits and/or solanaceaous crops were grown more frequently, whereas the presence of Criconemoides seemed to be associated with plots where cassava, corn or sorghum had been grown recently.