Plant-parasitic nematode survey of strawberry in Parana, Brazil

Strawberry (Fragaria X ananassa Duch) is a fruit of economic importance in Brazil. Traditionally, plants are cultivated in soil, which exposes the crops to plant-parasitic nematodes. Taking into consideration the limited information regarding the distribution and presence of the dominant nematodes, this paper presents a survey on the main plant-parasitic nematodes present in strawberry cultivation in the state of Parana, Brazil. It was carried out in 14 cities with significant strawberry production. 125 soil and root samples were collected between January and December 2017. Nematodes were morphologically identified at genus level and counted. The most frequent genera of nematodes were identified at species level. Nematodes of the genus Helicotylenchus were the most frequent in soil and roots of strawberry crops in Paran ' a. The nematodes Helicotylenchus dihystera, Meloidogyne hapla, Meloidogyne javanica and Pratylenchus brachyurus were identified at species level. Scutellonema, Ditylenchus, Hemicycliophora, Mesocriconema and Trichodorus were also detected in this survey, but less frequently. The high frequency of H. dihystera in all strawberry producing areas in the state of Paran ' a is worrisome, since little is known about the parasitism of this nematode species in strawberry plants. Further studies must be carried out to estimate the potential reduction in yield and quality of this fruit caused by H. dihystera as well as its interaction with soil fungi.