Emergence of gracilacus species as one of the key plant-parasitic nematodes associated with cassava in east senatorial district, rivers state, Nigeria
International Journal of Development Research
Emergence of gracilacus species as one of the key plant-parasitic nematodes associated with cassava in east senatorial district, rivers state, Nigeria
Received 13th November, 2017; Received in revised form 28th December, 2017; Accepted 23rd January, 2018; Published online 28th February, 2018
Copyright © 2018, Tanimola et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The type, distribution and population of plant-parasitic nematodes on crops change over time and space. It is pertinent to know their current status to ensure effective management. A survey was carried out to determine the occurrence and population of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with cassava in the East Senatorial District of Rivers State, Nigeria. Multi-stage random sampling method was used to collect soil and root samples from 56 farms growing cassava in monoculture across four Local Government Areas. Plant-parasitic nematodes in samples were extracted using the modified Baermann’s method, then later identified and counted. Data obtained were processed using descriptive statistic. Five genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were found to be associated with cassava namely: Helicotylenchus, Pratylenchus, Tylenchus, Gracilacus and Meloidogyne. Gracilacus with a frequency of occurrence (FOC) 39.3% and Meloidogyne (FOC 44.5%) were the predominant plant-parasitic nematodes in soil and roots of cassava, respectively. Meloidogyne species (FOC 32.7%) and Gracilacus species (FOC 48.5%) were the most abundant in soil and roots of cassava, respectively. The findings of this study gave credence to the emergence of Gracilacus species as one of the key plant-parasitic nematodes associated with cassava in Rivers State.