No abstract

Nematodes are important pathogens in banana plants, and the lack of resistant genotypes is the biggest challenge of the banana breeding programs. Little is known on the behavior of banana triploids and tetraploids developed by Embrapa regarding parasitism by plant-parasitic nematodes in field conditions. Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura experimental areas, naturally infested in five Brazilian states (Embrapa Acre - Acre, Embrapa Semiárido - Pernambuco, Embrapa Cerrados - Distrito Federal, Palmital - São Paulo and Epagri - Santa Catarina) were evaluated for the distribution and population levels of plant-parasitic nematodes in commercial cultivars and triploid and tetraploid genotypes in the final breeding stage. The root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) were the most frequent in roots (40 - 100%) and soil (85.71 - 100%), with a detectable number of juveniles (J2) varying between genotypes (4 - 148 J2.250g-1 roots, and 1 - 110 J2.100 cm-3soil). Four esterase phenotypes were characterized: M. incognita (Est I1 = Rm: 1.0), M. javanica (Est J3 = Rm: 1.0; 1.25 and 1.40 and Est J2 = Rm: 1.0 and 1.40) and M. arenaria (Est A2 = Rm: 1.20 and 1.35), M. javanica (Est J3) was predominant. Meloidogyne javanica and M. incognita were predominant, however mixed infestations between species were found. The occurrence of Meloidogyne spp. was: M. javanica (68.26%), M. incognita (64.73%) and M. arenaria (16.81%). Helicotylenchus multicinctus and Rotylenchulus reniformis was the second most frequent group. Radopholus similis, Scutellonema sp., Criconemoides sp. and Helicotylenchus sp. presented themselves in low frequency and population levels in banana plants.

The use of in vitro mass multiplication of nematodes under axenic conditions allows intensification of studies on taxonomy, biology, epidemiology and control of these pathogens. In the present study, two methods were compared for in vitro multiplication of two species of plant-parasitic nematodes, Radopholus similis and Pratylenchus brachyurus in 20, 40 and 60 day-periods. Both techniques involved the use of carrot cylinders placed in jars with lids, with water-agar in the bottom of the flasks (WA+) or without (WA-). In WA- the nematodes were treated with a 1% solution of ampicillin whilst for WA+ the axenization was carried out with a solution of mercuric chloride (0.01%), and streptomycin sulfate 0.02%. The WA+ condition was the most favorable for multiplication of both species of nematodes, resulting in a population increase of about 280 times for R. similis and 226 times for P. brachyurus in relation to the founding population of 25 individuals. For WA- a population increase of only five times after 60 days for R. similis and a duplication of the population after 60 days for P. brachyurus was obtained. Overall, the largest amount of nematodes occurred at 60 days after inoculation

The burrowing nematode Radopholus similis is among the most damaging pathogens. Resistant plants are one of the most promising approaches for nematode control, and knowledge of resistance and aggressiveness components is essential to understand resistance genetics and developing new cultivars. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the degree of resistance of eight banana accessions to populations of R. similis to verify differences in the reproduction capacity between nematode populations and to study the horizontal/vertical resistance and aggressiveness/ virulence components of Musa spp. and R. similis pathosystem. The accessions 4249-05, 4279-06, Yangambi Km5, 0323-03, 0337-02, 1304-06, Borneo and Grande Naine were inoculated with one of three R. similis populations from the Brazilian states of Pernambuco, Distrito Federal, and Santa Catarina and kept in a greenhouse. Accessions 4249-05, Yangambi Km5, 0323-03, and 4279-06 showed different resistance levels, and the Pernambuco population had the highest reproductive capacity. Using Griffing Model IV, evidence of vertical and horizontal resistance was observed, with accessions 4249-05 and Yangambi km5 showing the highest levels of horizontal resistance.