Plant-parasitic nematodes associated with the root zone of hop cultivars planted in a Florida field soil

In early 2016, hop plants were introduced into Florida. By late 2016, the hop plants were showing stunted growth and were heavily parasitized by Meloidogyne javanica. In this study, we determined host susceptibility of 14 hop cultivars to M. javanica in a greenhouse experiment and monitored population development of plant-parasitic nematode species in the root zone of 17 hop cultivars planted in three newly established hop yards in Florida. Plant-parasitic nematodes in the rooting zone soil of field grown hop plants included M. javanica, Pratylenchus brachyurus, Paratrichodorus minor, Belonolaimus longicaudatus, Xiphinema setariae/vulgare complex, Mesocriconema xenoplax, and Helicotylenchus dihystera; however, soil population densities of P. minor, B. longicaudatus, X. setariae/vulgare complex, M. xenoplax, and H. dihystera remained low through the study. Root galling, M. javanica egg production, and soil population densities of M. javanica were consistently large on the \u27Canadian Red Vine\u27, \u27Centennial\u27, \u27Chinook\u27, and \u27Comet\u27 cultivars, and small on the \u27Galena\u27 and \u27Triple Perle\u27 cultivars. No differences were observed in soil population densities of P. brachyurus among hop cultivars. Overall, our study provides the first report of plant-parasitic nematode population development in the root zone on hop cultivars planted in Florida

Improving understanding of nematode communities in agricultural settings: a comparison of mitometagenomics and morphology

Florida’s strawberry production provides significant economic benefit for the State; however, plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) pose a significant barrier to production. A better understanding of the distribution of nematode diversity in these fields could help to evaluate the potential risk to crops in agricultural fields and support more sustainable PPN management, but accurate analysis of constituent nematode species is key. The use of targeted mitometagenomics (mtMG) to identify nematode species has shown promise with nematode mock communities, but it remains unclear how it compares in natural agricultural settings and to the more traditional morphology-based approach. In this study, we performed a diversity survey of nematode communities across four different strawberry fields at four depths in the State of Florida using both mtMG and morphological methods. We observed significant differences in nematode community richness and composition between the two methods. Both methods failed to detect taxa recovered by the other method, due to method-specific biases resulting from differential detection of trophic groups. Importantly, both methods did agree on the detection and distribution of Meloidogyne, the most abundant PPNs with the added benefit of the mtMG precisely describing specific species. Despite significant community differences, both methods pointed to the important role of both field and depth in shaping these communities and provided evidence of PPN migration across the soil profile. In conclusion, our findings support the complementary use of multiple detection/identification methods when evaluating nematode diversity, particularly for PPNs

Nematodes Parasitizing Hops in Florida

The rapid growth of Florida's craft beer industry has created new opportunities for Florida growers to introduce and establish commercial hop (Humulus lupulus) operations. This new industry would have the potential to provide new and high profitable markets for Florida growers. However, many challenges make the establishment of this industry difficult.  They include limited knowledge of cultivars suitable to Florida’s climatic conditions, and lack of information on potential pests and diseases that will affect adversely this crop in Florida.</jats:p

Nematodes Parasitizing Hops in Florida

The rapid growth of Florida's craft beer industry has created new opportunities for Florida growers to introduce and establish commercial hop (Humulus lupulus) operations. This new industry would have the potential to provide new and high profitable markets for Florida growers. However, many challenges make the establishment of this industry difficult.  They include limited knowledge of cultivars suitable to Florida’s climatic conditions, and lack of information on potential pests and diseases that will affect adversely this crop in Florida

Nematodes Parasitizing Hops in Florida

The rapid growth of Florida's craft beer industry has created new opportunities for Florida growers to introduce and establish commercial hop (Humulus lupulus) operations. This new industry would have the potential to provide new and high profitable markets for Florida growers. However, many challenges make the establishment of this industry difficult.  They include limited knowledge of cultivars suitable to Florida’s climatic conditions, and lack of information on potential pests and diseases that will affect adversely this crop in Florida