Plant Parasitic Nematodes and Management Strategies of Major Crops in Mexico

Abstract

Plant parasitic nematodes are recognized as one of the most important limiting factor in crop production worldwide and Mexico is not an exception. Economic losses caused by nematodes are influenced by growing system type (multicropping, monocropping, crop rotation in open-field and greenhouse conditions, among others), species involved and their population densities. In Mexico, damages and losses are caused mainly by lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp. and Radopholus similis), the stem and bulb nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci), root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), false root knot nematode (Nacobbus aberrans), cyst nematodes (Globodera spp. and Punctodera chalcoensis), the citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans), virus transmitting nematodes (Xiphinema spp.), foliar nematode species (Aphelenchoides spp.) and red ring nematode (Bursaphelenchus cocophilus). Some of these nematodes have been observed in commercial plantations, crop fields and greenhouses where mono-cropping is more common and crop rotation is not practiced.