Occurrence, diversity and relative abundance of plant-parasitic nematodes: A survey of selected crop fields in Akure, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Information is scanty on the occurrence and population dynamics of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes (PPNs) in most cultivated fields in Nigeria. To this end, a study was designed to provide this information. Soil samples were collected randomly from crop fields (maize, rice, sugarcane, plantain, cassava, cowpea, cocoa and fallow land). The soil collection was with a core sampler at a distance of 10-15 cm from the plant root zone and at an approximate depth of 15-30 cm. The Baermann’s method was adopted to extract nematodes from a 100 g representative soil sample. Extracted nematodes were identified to the genus level. All data collected were subjected to statistical analysis and mean separation. Results showed that a significantly highest nematode population, 791.66, was obtained from the fallow land, while the cocoa field was next, 580.00. The rice field had significantly lowest population of 125.00. In all, 17 genera, in 12 families, were identified and Meloidogyne spp. was the most frequently isolated and most abundant, Tylenchulus spp. was the least. Furthermore, the plantain field had the most diverse genera, 10.20, while the rice field had the least, 2.00. PPNs occur and are widely distributed in the study area.