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Title: SURVEY OF STYLET BEARING NEMATODES ASSOCIATED WITH DATE PALM IN KHUZDAR DISTRICT, BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Author
item KHAN, ALY - UNIV KARACHI, PAKISTAN
item SHAMSUL, ISLAM - CAB, RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN
item SHAUKAT, S - UNIV KARACHI, PAKISTAN
item Handoo, Zafar

Submitted to: International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/31/2006
Publication Date: 9/1/2006
Citation: Khan, A., Shamsul, I., Shaukat, S., Handoo, Z.A. 2006. Survey of stylet bearing nematodes associated with date palm in khuzdar district, balochistan, pakistan. International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology. 3(3):567-570.

Interpretive Summary: Nematodes are microscopic worms that cause global crop losses exceeding $100 billion dollars annually. One problem with determining the extent of nematode damage to crop plants is that the nematodes present in many areas are not known, such as in the case of date palm trees in Khuzdar district, Balochistan, Pakistan. Therefore, researchers from Pakistan conducted a survey of nematodes in date palm orchards; an ARS scientist from Beltsville provided assistance in identifying the species of nematodes. This research revealed the presence of eight economically important species of plant nematodes. The results are significant because two of these species have been previously reported to cause yield loss in date palm. This research will be used by growers to develop strategies for controlling the damage caused by nematodes to date palm trees.

Technical Abstract: Surveys were conducted during September and October 2002 to identify the stylet-bearing nematodes associated with date palm in Khuzdar district, Balochistan, Pakistan. The nematodes recorded were Tylenchus sp., Merlinius sp., Helicotylenchus indicus, Psilenchus hilarulus, Aphelenchoides sp., Meloidogyne incognita and Xiphinema americanum. The similarity between the localities based on qualitative nematode data was calculated using Jaccard’s coefficient of similarity. The dendrograms derived from hierarchical agglomerative clustering of twelve locations within Khuzdar district showed the largest group to contain five localities. This group was characterized by high densities of H. indicus, X. americanum and M. incognita.