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Nematode Pests of Maize and Other Cereal Crops

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Book cover Nematology in South Africa: A View from the 21st Century

Abstract

Maize is the most important cereal crop grown in South Africa, followed by wheat and grain sorghum. Yields of grain crops usually vary considerably between years, mainly due to highly variable rainfall. The most widespread and frequently encountered nematode pests of maize are root-knot nematodes, with Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica dominating. Lesion nematodes follow, with Pratylenchus zeae generally being the predominant of a range of species from this genus. However, other plant-parasitic nematodes of the families Criconematidae, Dolichodoridae and Hoplolaimidae and species of Longidorus, Nanidorus, Paratrichodorus and Xiphinema have also been recorded from maize-producing areas. The response to treatment with nematicides in field experiments generally has not given consistent results, due in part to fluctuating rainfall. As a result, nematodes are not considered by maize farmers as a primary yield constraint. In contrast with an extensive body of information being available for maize nematodes, limited nematology research has been done on other cereal crops. The most commonly occurring nematode pests associated with barley, grain sorghum, millet, wheat and rice are also referred to in this chapter.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Dr Mariette Marais of the Nematology Unit, Biosystematics Division, Agricultural Research Council–Plant Protection Research Institute is thanked for the use of data from the South African Plant-Parasitic Nematode Survey (SAPPNS) database; E-mail: maraism@arc.agric.za

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North-West University, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa

    Alexander H. Mc Donald, Dirk De Waele & Hendrika Fourie

  2. Laboratory for Tropical Crop Improvement, Department of Biosystems, University of Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium

    Dirk De Waele

Authors
  1. Alexander H. Mc Donald
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  2. Dirk De Waele
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  3. Hendrika Fourie
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Correspondence to Hendrika Fourie .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. North-West University Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Hendrika Fourie

  2. Durban, South Africa

    Vaughan W. Spaull

  3. Robin Jones Nematological Services, Murrayfield, Pretoria, South Africa

    Robin K. Jones

  4. Agricultural Research Council-Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Mbombela, South Africa

    Mieke S. Daneel

  5. Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement Department of Biosystems, University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium

    Dirk De Waele

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Mc Donald, A.H., De Waele, D., Fourie, H. (2017). Nematode Pests of Maize and Other Cereal Crops. In: Fourie, H., Spaull, V., Jones, R., Daneel, M., De Waele, D. (eds) Nematology in South Africa: A View from the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44210-5_8

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