The Genus Pratylenchus (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae) in Israel: From Taxonomy to Control Practices

Abstract

Due to Israel’s successful agricultural production and diverse climatic conditions, plant-parasitic nematodes are flourishing. The occurrence of new, previously unidentified species in Israel or of suggested new species worldwide is a consequence of the continuous withdrawal of efficient nematicides. Among plant-parasitic nematodes, migratory endoparasitic species of the genus Pratylenchus are widely distributed in vegetable and crop fields in Israel and are associated with major reductions in quality and yield. This review focuses on the occurrence, distribution, diagnosis, pathogenicity, and phylogeny of all Pratylenchus species recorded over the last few decades on different crops grown throughout Israel—covering early information from nematologists to recent reports involving the use of molecular phylogenetic methodologies. We explore the accepted distinction between Pratylenchus thornei and Pratylenchus mediterraneus isolated from Israel’s northern Negev region, and address the confusion concerning the findings related to these Pratylenchus species. Our recent sampling from the northern Negev revealed the occurrence of both P. thornei and P. mediterraneus on the basis of molecular identification, indicating P. mediterraneus as a sister species of P. thornei and their potential occurrence in a mixed infection. Finally, the efficiencies of common control measures taken to reduce Pratylenchus’ devastating damage in protected crops and field crops is discussed.

Pratylenchus araucensis (Rhabditida: Pratylenchidae) a Widely Distributed Nematode in Musa spp. From Colombia

“…The populations analyzed in this research were identified through the use of morphological and morphometric characteristic. PCA separated the species identified in this study from others that are morphologically and morphometrically similar, showing the importance of morphological and morphometric data, in addition to multivariate statistical analysis for the identification of species of the genus Pratylenchus (Castillo and Vovlas, 2007;Múnera et al, 2009;Singh et al, 2018;Qing et al, 2019;Riascos-Oritiz et al, 2019).…”

“…Species of Pratylenchus are difficult to separate from each other, due to their similarity in morphometrics and morphology, although the genus is easily recognizable (Castillo and Vovlas, 2007). However, based on an integrative taxonomy approach, including morphological, morphometric, and molecular characterization, the populations obtained in this study associated with Musa spp.…”

“…Subsequently, the nematodes were killed by exposure to 65°C for 4 min and fixed in 2% formalin (Rosa et al, 2014;Riascos-Ortiz et al, 2019). For each population, morphometric data were recorded for different diagnostic characteristic (Castillo and Vovlas, 2007;Múnera et al, 2009).…”

“…Pratylenchus is a migratory endoparasitic nematode that limits the production of a wide range of crops in tropical and subtropical areas of the world (Sasser and Freckman, 1987;Castillo and Vovlas, 2007;Múnera et al, 2009). Crops affected by Pratylenchus include different species of the Musaceae family, including plantain (Musa paradisiaca [L.] AAB Simmonds cv.…”

Occurrence and Geographic Distribution of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Citrus in Morocco and Their Interaction with Soil Patterns

“…In Brazil, P. coffeae infests about 1% of citrus nurseries and orchards [ 43 ], while it has a major trend in Florida, USA [ 44 ]. Other RLN species were described to be prominent such as P. vulnus and P. neglectus in Israel [ 45 ], and P. vulnus and P. coffeae in Morocco [ 7 ]. These species can significantly reduce root weight, which translated into significant yield losses [ 4 ].…”