SUMMARYBetween 1978 and 1980 a total of 33 raspberry‐cane beds at eight nurseries in England were sampled to detect root‐lesion nematodes in the roots of the canes and in the soil. Pratylenchus crenatus Loof was found in 20 cane beds (five nurseries) and was the most abundant species in the roots. P. thomei Sher & Allen was found in nine cane beds and P. neglectus (Rensch) Chitwood & Oteifa in eight (four and three nurseries respectively). P. fallax Seinhorst was found in four cane beds at one nursery only and P. penetrans (Cobb) CMtwood & Oteifa in one cane bed only. At each nursery, different cultivars tended to be uniformly infested with the same species or mixture of species. There was no association between the occurrence of the different species of root‐lesion nematodes and the mineral matter content or the particle size distribution of the soil.