title: Species of Heterodera cysts in cereal fields in Flanders.
abstract: Heterodera is a genus of cyst-forming nematodes, including the cereal cysts which can provoke yield reductions in grain crops. As little is known about the occurrence of these cysts in Belgian grain fields, a survey was organized, starting in Flanders. Soil samples were taken from 50 fields where cereals are grown in rotation with mainly beet, potato and vegetables. Cysts were extracted from the 112 samples and 10 individuals per sample were identified up to species level by morphometrical and morphological observations. The beet cyst nematode, Heterodera schachtii, was found in 34 fields (56%) at infestation levels varying from 0.6 to 1322 cysts/kg soil. Other Heterodera species (e.g. H. trifolii, H. mani) were found in low numbers and sometimes in mixtures with H. schachtii, but no cereal cysts were detected. This survey confirms that beet cyst nematodes are a problem in Flanders. The few cereal cysts that might be present were perhaps not detected due to the few individuals that were identified. For this reason, molecular identification tools which allow fast and accurate identification of Heterodera species would be very useful. It could be interesting to find out why cereal cysts are suppressed in our regions and to expand the survey to the Walloon region where more cereals are grown.
authors.affiliation: Giresun University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 28049 Giresun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeliha Colak
authors.initials: ZC
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Deeren
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Sutter
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Viaene
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001530:Belgium; D003560:Cysts / Q000469:parasitology; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000469:parasitology*; D009348:Nematoda / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology; D014431:Tylenchoidea / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D012987:Soil