Occurrence of Heterodera schachtii in the sugar beet growing areas of Vojvodina, Serbia

Abstract

The survey on the occurrence of the sugar beet cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii Schmidt 1871 was performed from November 2006 until June 2012 in the sugar beet growing areas of the Serbian northern Province of Vojvodina. The soil samples were taken from 55 beet fields and analyzed for number of viable eggs or juveniles in the soil. In total, 1387 soil samples were collected from 20 sugar beet producers and 3 seed fodder beet producers. Fenwick can and electric device for crushing cysts were used in order to determine the presence of cysts and population density. Heterodera schachtii occurred in 36.36 % of beet fields with population density ranging from 13 to 1591 eggs and second-stage juveniles in 100 cm3 of soil. The area with the most infected fields was the district of Backa. Only in the district of Banat H. schachtii was not detected. Current occurrence of H. schachtii in the sugar beet growing areas of Vojvodina indicates that this pest is most frequently found near old sugar beet factories in the districts of Backa and Srem as a result of intensive sugar beet cultivation with narrow crop rotation.