Meloidogyne hispanica		Contents		Rev 10/24/2023
Seville Root-knot Nematode		Classification		Hosts
		Morphology and Anatomy		Life Cycle
Return to Meloidogyne Menu		Economic Importance		Damage
		Distribution		Management
Return to Heteroderidae Menu		Feeding		References
		Go to Nemaplex Main Menu		Go to Dictionary of Terminology

Classification:

      Tylenchida
       Tylenchina
        Tylenchoidea
         Heteroderidae
          Meloidogyninae

        Meloidogyne hispanica Hirschmann, 1986

Review general characteristics of the genus Meloidogyne.

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Morphology and Anatomy:

Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:

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Distribution:

First described from a peach rootstock in Seville, Spain. Since detected in several countrioes and in South Carolina, USA.

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Economic Importance:

Proposal for an A pest rating in California (Scheck, 2021)

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Feeding:

Sedentary endoparasite.

   Feeding site establishment and development typical of genus. 

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Hosts:

Type Host: Peach rootstock (Prunus persica silvestris).

Wide host range across amny plant families and in a number of important agronomic crops.

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Life Cycle:

Typical of the genus:

• Obligate, sedentary endoparasites that feed within host plant roots.
• Adult females embedded in host roots produce eggs within a mass either on the surface of, or within roots.
• The first stage juvenile develops within the egg and molts to develop into the second stage.
• The second-stage juveniles (J2) are the infective stage that hatch from eggs and migrate in rhizosphere soil to host roots where they reinfest the same roots they were originally associated with or are attracted to other nearby host roots.
• The J2s penetrate the host roots and stimulate development of specialized giant cell feeding sites in the developing vascular tissues of the root.
• The nematode undergoes two more molts before developing into mature adult females or vermiform males and completing the life cycle.
• (Ref Scheck, 2021)

Ecophysiological Parameters:

Chromosome number 2n=33-36. The large number, and variability of chromosome number, are typical of species reproducing by obligate mitotic parthenogenesis. (Triantaphyllou, 1985; Subbotin et al., 2021).

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Damage:

Root galling, stunted plants, chlorosis, signs of water stress during dry conditions.

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Management:

Resistance

Host Plant Resistance, Non-hosts and Crop Rotation alternatives:

Phytosanitary Hygiene

Root-knot nematodes are easily moved over large distances in infested plant material. Testing and certification of nursery stock and rooted seedlings or ornamentals is important.

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References:

CABI Invasive Species Compendium 2021. Meloidogyne hispanica. cabi.org/isc/datasheet/73057187 Accessed 11/9/21

Chitambar, J. J., Westerdahl, B. B., and Subbotin, S. A. 2018. Plant Parasitic Nematodes in California Agriculture. In Subbotin, S., Chitambar J., (eds) Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Sustainable Agriculture of North America. Sustainability in Plant and Crop Protection. Springer, Cham.

EPPO Global Database. 2021. Meloidogyne hispanica https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/MELGHI. Accessed 11/9/21

Hirschmann, H., 1986. Meloidogyne hispanica n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), the 'Seville root-knot nematode'. Journal of Nematology, 18(4), p.520.

Landa, B.B., Rius, J.E.P., Vovlas, N., Carneiro, R.M., Maleita, C.M., de O. Abrantes, I.M. and Castillo, P., 2008. Molecular characterization of Meloidogyne hispanica (Nematoda, Meloidogynidae) by phylogenetic analysis of genes within the rDNA in Meloidogyne spp. Plant Disease, 92(7), pp.1104-1110.

Maleita, C.M.N., Curtis, R.H.C., Powers, S.J. and Abrantes, I., 2012. Host status of cultivated plants to Meloidogyne hispanica. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 133(2), pp.449-460.

Mitkowski, N.A. and G.S. Abawi. 2003. Root-knot nematodes. The Plant Health Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-I2003-0917-01. Revised 2011.

Scheck, H.J. 2021. California Pest Rating Proposal for Meloidogyne hispanica Hirschmann 1986. CDFA, Sacramento

Skantar, A. M., Handoo, Z. A., Subbotin, S. A., Kantor, M. R., Vieira, P., Aguedelo, P., Hult, M. N., and Rogers, S. Molecular and morphological evidence for the first report of Seville root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne hispanica (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae) in the USA and North America. In preparation.

Subbotin, S.A., Palomares-Rius, J.E., Castillo, P. 2021. Systematics of Root-knot Nematodes (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae). Nemaology Monographs and Perspectives Vol 14. Brill, Leiden. 857p.

USDA Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking System, Phytosanitary Export Database (PExD) Harmful Organisms Database Report. Meloidogyne hispanica. Accessed 11/9/2021

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Copyright © 1999 by Howard Ferris.
Revised: October 24, 2023.