Community structure of plant parasitic nematodes in banana plantations of Andhra Pradesh, India.

A total of 42 soil and root samples collected from different cultivars of banana grown in West Godavari, East Godavari, Guntur and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh during July, 2005 covering various soil types viz., alluvial, sandy loam, clay and black soils were processed and nematode populations were assessed. Analysis of the soil samples revealed the presence of 13 genera of plant parasitic nematodes. Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) was the most predominant species having the highest prominence value, followed by root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus coffeae) and spiral nematode (Helicotylenchus multicinctus). M. incognita was also recorded as a predominant species from all the cultivars surveyed, whereas the burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis was recorded only from cv. Robusta (100%). Cent per cent occurrence of M. incognita was recorded from alluvial soil followed by sandy loam soil (80%). P. coffeae was also recorded maximum in alluvial soil (83.3%) followed by sandy loam (80%).