Plant-parasitic Nematodes Associated with Cotton in Florida.

A sampling of 15% of the cotton hectarage in each Florida county was assayed for nematodes and soil particle components following the 1990 harvest. The distribution of juveniles of Meloidogyne spp., which were found in 61% of the 178 fields sampled statewide, was not influenced by soil type. Rotylenchulus reniformis was more prevalent in the heavier soils and occurred in 15% of the sampled fields. In fields with concomitant infestations (9% of the sampled fields), densities of root-knot juveniles per 10 cm(3) soil wer e negatively related to those of reniform nematodes (R(2) =-0.32; P < 0.02; df = 14). Gall ratings of cotton plants, assayed in sampled soils, were positively related to the densities of root-knot juveniles per 100 cm(3) soil (R(2) = 0.23; P < 0.01; df = 175). Other nematode genera and their frequency of occurrence were Helicotylenchus (76%), Paratrichodorus (57%), Criconemella (53%), Pratylenchus (42%), Xiphinema (7%), Heterodera (2%), and Hoplolaimus (1%).