INFLUENCE OF PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES ON GROWTH OF ST. AUGUSTINE AND CENTIPEDE TURFGRASSES
Authors
A. R. Plaisance
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
E. C. McGawley
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
C. Overstreet
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Keywords:
centipede, Criconemella, Eremochloa ophiuroides, Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne incognita, pathogenicity, Pratylenchus zeae, soil type and texture, St. Augustine, Stenotaphrum secundatum, turfgrass, Tylenchorhynchus
Abstract
During the spring, summer and fall (May-November) of 2011 and 2012, 100 residential lawns in East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, were sampled to document the incidence and abundance of plant-parasitic nematode communities. Genera of nematodes associated with St. Augustine and centipede turfgrasses included Criconemella, Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Tylenchorhynchus, and Tylenchus. Damage potentials of Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus zeae individually were evaluated in subsequent greenhouse trials. Across nematode infestation levels of 200 and 2,000 individuals, reductions in final plant weight below controls for St. Augustine and centipede averaged 24% and 28%, respectively, for M. incognita and 37.0% and 39.3% for P. zeae; indicating that overall, P. zeae was more damaging to both turfgrasses than M. incognita.