Parasitic behavior of Nacobbus aberrans populations from different geographical origin in tomato plants

Abstract

<p>The parasitic behavior of eight populations of <em>N. aberrans</em> from different geographical origin on tomato plants cv Miroma was evaluated. Tomato plants 29 days old were transplanted in pots previously inoculated with 0.5 g of galls from each population of nematode. Inoculated plants and control plants were kept for 45 days in a greenhouse. After transplanting (dat), three evaluations of penetration and invasion of juveniles were made at 15, 30 and 45 dat. The results showed that at 15 dat, the populations of Romita, Tetela and Chapingo presented the highest penetration and invasion rates with 58, 50 and 50 juveniles/g of root, respectively. At 30 dat, only the Silao population increased its penetration with 66 juveniles/g root, while the rest of the populations showed a significant decrease in their penetration rates. At the end of the experiment, the number of juveniles had increased, causing root swelling in the plants, mainly in those that were inoculated with the populations of Romita (158 juveniles/g of root) and Tetela (102 juveniles/g of root). In conclusion, there are clear differences in the behavior of the populations of <em>N. aberrans</em> in terms of fertility, penetration capacity and invasion of the root system in tomato plants, depending on their geographical origin.</p>