First report of Meloidogyne naasi in the Czech Republic
The NPPO of the Czech Republic recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of Meloidogyne naasi (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae) on its territory. Since the end of summer 2014, extensive yellowing and decline symptoms have been observed on the lawns of a golf course located in the municipality of Praha-Hostivař (near Prague). These lawns were a mixture of Agrostis stolonifera cv. ‘Penn A-4’ and Festuca rubra cvs. ‘Barcrown’ and ‘Bargreen’, and had been sown in 2005. Samples containing soil substrate (sand) and symptomatic plants were collected in January 2015 and sent to the NPPO laboratory for diagnosis. Results of the analysis (light microscopy and PCR tests) confirmed the presence of M. naasi. Larvae and females of M. naasi were extracted from grass roots but the specific host was not identified. Only larvae could be extracted from soil samples. Although the observed symptoms are likely to be caused by M. naasi, the occurrence of another plant parasitic nematode, namely Hemicycliophora sp., was also detected in the studied samples. No official measures have been taken, but a national PRA has been carried out and a detection survey will be conducted to clarify the pest status of M. naasi in the Czech Republic.
The pest status of Meloidogyne naasi in the Czech Republic is officially declared as: Present, found only in one locality.
Note: M. naasi is a polyphagous root-knot nematode. Its main host plants are Poaceae, including cereals, fodder and turf grasses. Other crops such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa), clover (Trifolium spp.), onions (Allium cepa), peas and beans (Pisum sativum, Phaseolus vulgaris), soybean (Glycine max), sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris) have been reported to be host plants. M. naasi can also feed and reproduce on several weed species (e.g. Stellaria media). Its currently known geographical distribution has been added to the EPPO Global Database: https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/MELGNA/distribution
Sources
NPPO of the Czech Republic (2015-08).