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Seventy-six populations of Heterodera glycines were collected from 33 counties in 10 states of the United States along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in 1992 and 1993. A sterile hyphomycete fungus of an unnamed taxon, designated ARF18 and shown to be a parasite of eggs of H. glycines, was isolated from eggs and cysts of 10 of the populations from Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Ten isolates of ARF18 obtained in this study and seven isolates obtained in earlier studies were characterized for cultural morphology on several growth media, the ability to produce sclerotium-like structures (SLS) on cornmeal agar, growth rates, pathogenicity to eggs of H. glycines in vitro, and mitochondrial (mt) DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). All 17 isolates of ARF18 readily grew on potato dextrose agar, cornmeal agar, and nutrient agar. Based on colony morphology and SLS appearance on cornmeal agar, the isolates could be grouped into two morphological phenotypes. Isolates that produced SLS that were composed of a compact mass of hyphae were designated ARF18-C, whereas isolates that produced SLS composed of a mass of loosely clumped hyphae were designated ARF18-L. Only minor differences in growth rates were detected among the ARF18-C and ARF18-L isolates. All 10 ARF18-C isolates, which were from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, belonged to a single mtDNA RFLP haplotype. The seven ARF18-L isolates shared many comigrating mtDNA restriction fragments with one another, but belonged to three distinct mtDNA RFLP haplotypes. Ability to infect eggs of H. glycines in vitro varied considerably among the various isolates of ARF18. In particular, several of the ARF18-C isolates were consistently able to infect over 50% (mean = 70.0%, standard deviation = 16%) of the eggs of H. glycines, whereas ARF18-L infected eggs to a lesser degree (mean = 25%, standard deviation = 27%). ARF18-C was isolated only from H. glycines populations from below 37 degrees N latitude. The presence of ARF18 was associated with soils with Mg levels <314 kg/ha, cyst numbers >4.5 per 100 cm(3), and iron levels >203.5 kg/ha; or with Mg levels >314 kg/ha and Na levels <121 kg/ha. The widespread distribution of ARF18 and the ability of some isolates to aggressively colonize eggs of H. glycines are indications that it has potential as a biological control agent for H. glycines.

The reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reniformis, is a serious threat to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) production in the United States, causing an annual loss of about $80 million. The objective of this study was to isolate fungi from eggs of R. reniformis and select potential biocontrol agents for R. reniformis on cotton. We focused on the fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia because it suppresses root-knot and cyst nematodes and because preliminary data indicated that it was present in Arkansas cotton fields. Soil samples were collected from six cotton fields in Jefferson County, Arkansas. A total of 117 isolates of the nematophagous fungus P. chlamydosporia were obtained. In an in vitro test, 105 of the 117 isolates parasitized fewer than 15% of R. reniformis eggs, but 12 isolates parasitized between 16 and 35% of the eggs. These 12 isolates produced from 6.8 x 10(4) to 6.9 x 10(5) chlamydospores per gram of medium in vitro, and chlamydospore production was similar on rice grain and corn grain media. In two greenhouse experiments, a single application of isolate 37 (5,000 chlamydospores per gram of soil) significantly reduced the numbers of R. reniformis on cotton roots and in soil. The three isolates (37, 26, and 14) that parasitized the most eggs in vitro were also the most effective in suppressing numbers of R. reniformis and in increasing cotton growth in the greenhouse.

Five soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) crosses involving parents that differed in reaction to race 4 of soybean‐cyst nematode (SCN) (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) were studied in F1, F2, and backcross populations. Reaction of the parents to race 4 was: PI 88788, resistant; PI 90763, moderately resistant; ‘Peking,’ susceptible; ‘Mack’ and ‘Hill,’ very susceptible.Frequency distributions from three crosses involving parents that were resistant, moderately resistant, and susceptible indicated that three alleles at a single locus conditioned reaction to SCN. Resistance possessed by PI 88788 was recessive to PI 90763 and the moderately resistant reaction of PI 90763 was recessive to the suceptible Peking cultivar. Backcross data also appeared to confirm this inheritance pattern. Segregation in the F2 generation gave a good fit for a ratio of three resistant and 61 susceptible plants from two crosses; Hill ✕ PI 90763 and Mack ✕ PI 90763 which involved very susceptible and moderately resistant parents. This ratio indicated one dominant and two recessive genes conditioned resistance in these crosses. Apparently two additional loci with two alleles at each locus, also are necessary for resistance to race 4.

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