Rev 10/05/2021
Tylenchina Tylenchoidea Pratylenchidae Pratylenchinae
Pratylenchus brachyurus (Godfrey, 1929) Filipjev & Schuurmans-Stekhoven, 1941
Lip region is generally low and flat. Head frame sclerotized.
Tail conical and rounded to flattened at tip.
Nematode has short ventral overlap of esophagus.
Monovarial, uterus prodelphic, short post-uterine sac.
Females are slender.
Males are extremely rare.
Reported median body size for this species (Length mm; width micrometers; weight micrograms) - Click:
Widely in the tropics and sub-tropics. Type host was pineapple in Hawaii where it was described by Godfrey in 1929..
In surveys of the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil, 94% of cotton fields and 85% of soybean fields were infested with P. brachyurus (Da Silva et al., 2004; Miranda et al., 2010).
C-rated pest in California Nematode Pest Rating System.
Migratory endoparasite of roots.
The nematode is readily cultured on carrot disks on 1% agar for detailed study of life cycle and other biological aspects (Moody et al., 1973).
Wide host range, including:
Ecophysiological Parameters:
There are no males (extremely rare); females reproduce by mitotic parthenogenesis; the somatic chromosome number is 30-32 (Roman and Triantaphyllou, 1969). .In mitotic parthenogenesis there is no fertilization and there is mitotic division of oogonia so that the somatic number of chromosomes is preserved throughout.
Burrows through cortex; necrosis occurs after 24 hours in tobacco, 4 days in pineapple.
Can stop growth of pineapple roots.
May result in vessel blocking in corn.
In peanuts, causes crop loss by weakening pegs so that pods drop off; lesions appear on pegs, pods, and shells.
Slows growth on young citrus in Florida, but effect diminishes with tree age (O'Bannon).
Patchers of stunted plants in soybean fields in Brazil
Crop Rotation:
The wide diistribution and host range of this nematode are problematic. The cotton fields of Mato Grosso state in Brazil with 94% infestation of P. brachyurus are rotated to soybean and corn, both hosts of the nematode (Da Siva et al., 2004).
Host Plant Resistance, Non-hosts and Crop Rotation alternatives:
Biological Control
Attempts at soybean seed treatment with endospores of Pasteuria thornei only reduced nematode abundance when applied at very hig densities and was less effective than abamectin (Confort and Inomoto, 2018)
CIH 89
Confort, P.M. de S. and M. M. Inomoto. 2018. Pasteuria thornei, a novel biological seed treatment for Pratylenchus brachyurus control in soybean. Nematology 20:519-523.
Da Silva. R.A., M.A.S. Serrano, A.C. Gomes, D.C. Borges, A.A. de Souza, G.L. Asmus, M.M. Inomoto. 200f. Ocorr�ncia de Pratylenchus brachyurus e Meloidogyne incognita na Cultura do Algodoeiro no Estado do Mato Grosso. Fitopatol. Bras. 29:337.
Lordello, L.G.E. 1986 Plant-parasitic nematodes that attack coffee. Pp 33-41 in Anon. Plant-parasitic nematodes of bananas, citrus, coffee, grapes and tobacco. Union Carbide Corp.
MirandaM.D.FavoretoL.& RibeiroN.R.(2010). Nematoides: um desafio constante. Funda� MT Brazil Boletim de Pesquisa Soja 2011 pp. 400-414.
Moody, E.H., Lownsbery, D.F., Ahmed, J.M. 1973. Culture of the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus vulnus on carrot disks. J. Nematology 5:225-226.
Roman, J., Triantaphyllou, A.C. 1969. Gametogenesis oand reproduction of seven species of Pratylenchus. J. Nematology 1:357-362.