The Importance of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes to Australian and New Zealand Agriculture.

Abstract

The most important nematode problems in Australia and New Zealand are reviewed, several potentially serious new nematode problems are discussed and estimates of losses caused by nematodes are provided. Numerous economically important species occur in Australia, but the most damaging nematodes include Meloidogyne spp., which are major pests of a wide range of fruit, vegetable, ornamental, field and pasture crops, the cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera avenae, and Anguina funesta, the vector of annual ryegrass toxicity. Together with a number of less well-known nematodes, they cause losses to Australian agriculture that are estimated at more than $300 million per annum. In New Zealand, Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida on potato and Heterodera trifolii and Meloidogyne hapla on white clover are possibly the most important species. The crisis in nematode control programs caused by the withdrawal of several widely used nematicides is discussed and the need for the development of more sustainable nematode management strategies is recognised. Options such as the use of nematode resistant cultivars and rootstocks, crop rotation, organic amendments and biological control are discussed and research priorities in plant nematology are considered.