Occurrence and diversity of egg pathogenic fungi of the Mediterranean cereal cyst nematode Heterodera latipons.
Eighteen fungal strains in nine genera present in German and Syrian soils were isolated from eggs of the barley cyst nematode H. latipons. The fungi were selected out of the soil microflora using the slide-frame baiting technique from a semiarid soil originating from Syria heavily infested with H. latipons and from a temperate soil from German heavily infested with H. schachtii. Fusarium and Acremonium were the most common fungi isolated from the both soils. The natural suppressiveness or antagonistic potential of egg pathogenic fungi in the Syrian and German soils toward H. latipons also was measured. The results demonstrated that a higher level of antagonistic potential and a greater level of fungal egg pathogen biodiversity is present in the semiarid Syrian soils. This is important for the natural control of the Mediterranean cereal cyst nematode H. latipons which is widely spread throughout the region. The high level of biodiversity in the soil may allow subsequent buffering of the pest even when unsuitable soil conditions for growth of the antagonistic fungi occur e.g. low organic matter, as is common in the semiarid soils of the Middle East. These isolates may also lend themselves to management in the field or to inundative approaches to biocontrol of cereal cyst nematodes in the semiarid production zone.
Ismail
S
S
Soil-Ecosystem Phytopathology and Nematology, Institut für Pflanzenkrankheiten Universität Bonn, Nussallee 9, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
Sikora
R A
RA
Schuster
R P
RP
D000164:Acremonium / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000469:parasitology*; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000254:growth & development; D005858:Germany; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013593:Syria; D014431:Tylenchoidea / Q000382:microbiology*; D020172:Verticillium / Q000254:growth & development
D012987:Soil