Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Thursday morning, 26 October, Don Dickson and Jim Preston welcomed the group to University of Florida and introduced John Capinera, Chairman, Department of Entomology and Nematology and Eric Triplett, Chairman, Microbiology and Cell Science Department. These chairmen spoke to the group about Florida agriculture, departmental affairs, University of Florida, and the importance of plant-pathogenic nematodes to agriculture in Florida. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Judy Thies. The meeting agenda was approved and in the absence of Inga Zasada, secretary for NE-1019, Don Dickson volunteered to serve as interim recording secretary. Lou Magnarelli, administrative advisor, commented about a project midterm assessment. He began by pointing out that our USDA CSREES representative, Jim Green was unable to attend. He mentioned leveraging federal funds, interdependency of project objectives, promoting successful milestones with emphasis on any major discoveries that impact grower practices, workshops that promote training, and the importance all NE-1019 committee members attending annual meetings. He mentioned that it was time to begin thinking about requesting a new 5 year project. Projects that emphasize soil health would be viewed favorably in the future. A writing committee should be appointed May or June 2007 to begin drafting a new project. The new project should be ready for peer review in 2008 and full review by 2009, and final approval by October 2009. The current project ends in 2009. Lou mentioned that the current Federal Administration was considering changing the formula funding for agriculture research to a competitive grants based system. He stated that such a change would have a tremendous impact on our future efforts to meet immediate state needs in agricultural research. Participating state oral reports were presented by George Abawi, George Bird, Don Dickson, John Halbrendt, Robin Huettel, Jim Kotcon, Jim LaMondia, Jim Preston, and Judy Thies. Invited guests whom presented short research reports relative to project objectives included George Kariuki, Joey Orajay, and Marco Cordero (from Don Dicksons lab). A workshop on recent developments with Pasteuria penetrans was led by Jim Prestons lab. Libby Schmidt demonstrated new molecular techniques for working with P. penetrans. The business meeting was called to order by Judy Thies. It was noted that secretary Inga Zasada will serve as chair of the committee for 2007 and Don Dickson was elected as incoming secretary for 2007. Invitations for hosting the 2007 annual meeting were received from Ernie Bernard, Knoxville, TN, Robin Huettel, Auburn, AL, and Jim LaMondia, Mystic, CT. It was moved by George Abawi that we accept the invitation to meet in Connecticut, and seconded by Robin Huettel. The motioned passed unanimously. The suggested date for the meeting was 4 - 5 October 2007. George Abawi and George Bird volunteered to serve as a sub-committee for drafting a new project beginning June 2007. The sub-committee would have the draft ready for review by all current NE-1019 committee members by the time we meet in Connecticut in October 2007. Minutes prepared by Don Dickson, Acting Secretary.

OBJECTIVES: OBJECTIVE 1. Develop cultural controls for plant-parasitic nematodes based on resistant, non-host, or nematode-antagonistic rotation crops and green manures 2006 Milestones: " Development of suppressive soils in golf courses: Sampling and DNA extraction will be repeated and the incidence of P. penetrans and fungal antagonists will be documented. Rhode Island. Pasteuria penetrans endospores were observed in soil samples, but DNA amplification results of P. penetrans from soil samples were erratic. Correlations were not observed between parasitism by P. penetrans and nematode population levels. No nematode destroying fungi were detected visually or by DNA analysis , nor between soil physical and chemical characteristics or management methods and level of P. penetrans. (Milestone was completed in 2005.) " Complete regression analysis of the effects of soil characteristics, turf species, cultural practices on plant-parasitic nematodes and nematode antagonists. Rhode Island. Completed analysis of all previously obtained data from golf courses in Southern New England strongly suggests that the most important factor for nematode success on putting greens is host species. Although it was not possible to analyze differences in nematode susceptibility between host varieties, significant differences between susceptibility among host species were identified. Antagonistic fungi were isolated in few putting green samples and based on this limited sampling, do not appear to play a significant role in suppressing nematode populations. " Screening of vegetable germplasm (carrot, onion, pepper) for resistance to M. hapla. Rhode Island. Preliminary screening of lettuce germplasm for resistance to Meloidogyne hapla was initiated. Additionally, lettuce tissue culture protocols were optimized for future protoplast fusion techniques and traditional crosses between M. hapla tolerant lettuce accessions and susceptible accessions were made. USDA (South Carolina). Pepper germplasm from the USDA Pepper Germplasm Collection was evaluated for resistance to M. hapla. Several accessions were moderately resistant in unreplicated greenhouse trials. USDA (South Carolina). Wild watermelon germplasm from the USDA Watermelon Germplasm Collection was characterized for resistance to M. incognita and M. arenaria race 2. Several accessions of Citrullus lanatus var. citroides exhibited moderate resistance in greenhouse tests. Other accomplishments: Connecticut. Rotation with forage pearl millet 101, velvet bean, Dwarf Essex rapeseed and buckwheat was evaluated for control of lesion and dagger nematode in CT, PA and MD. Pearl millet significantly reduced lesion nematode numbers in roots before incorporation of shoots and in soil after green manuring. Dagger nematode numbers were lowest after incorporation of Dwarf Essex rapeseed, but differences were not significant. USDA (Maryland). Extracts from roots and shoots of the plant species Plantago lanceolata and P. rugelii (plantain) were observed to be toxic the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita, but not to the following microbes: the beneficial bacteria Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas fluorescens, the beneficial fungus Trichoderma virens, and the plant-pathogenic fungi Phytophthora capsici, Pythium ultimum, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. gladioli, and Rhizoctonia solani. USDA (Maryland). Although rye cover crops are an important component of many cropping systems in the United States, the effects of this cover crop on plant-parasitic nematodes are not clearly understood. Therefore, the toxicity of compounds (DIBOA, BOA, DIMBOA, MBOA) found in rye plants was evaluated against root-knot and dagger nematodes. There was greater than 80% reduction in dagger nematode survival with DIBOA and DIMBOA treatment, but no activity of MBOA and BOA against the dagger nematode. The root-knot nematode was less sensitive to the tested compounds than dagger nematode was; only DIBOA reduced root-knot nematode egg hatch. Florida and USDA (SC and FL). Winter cover crops of canola, vetch, wheat, rye, and oat in 2005-2006 were followed by a summer crop of pink eye purple hull cowpea and a winter cover crop of common hairy vetch 2006-2007. Extreme drought reduced stand and growth of cowpea. OBJECTIVE 2. Develop biological control agents, such as Pasteuria penetrans, for suppression of plant-parasitic nematodes. 2006 Milestones: " Confirmation of the efficacy of biocontrol organisms against root-knot nematodes in tomato and other crops. Connecticut. Pasteuria endospores were observed on the cuticles of M. hapla juveniles from certain field microplots that appear to have developed suppressive soil characteristics. Soil from plots was dried, left as nontreated, microwaved for 4 minutes 45 seconds, or autoclaved for 1 hour each on two successive days prior to placing soil in greenhouse pots. The lowest percentage of endospore-encumbered juveniles and highest numbers of galls per pot were was from autoclaved soil, indicating that Pasteuria may be suppressing M. hapla reproduction in microplots. West Virginia. Preference of C. brevicauda for various bacteria isolated from commercial biocontrol agents, soil, from C. brevicauda in culture was evaluated in paired trials. C. brevicauda reproduction was greatest on Bacillus mycoides, but low on E. coli, Flexibacter sancti. Based on these results, preferred food sources such as E. coli or NAB-2 are not the ideal food sources for supporting reproduction. Florida. Pasteuria penetrans was successfully transferred from a root-knot nematode suppressive site to a root-knot nematode conducive site and established to suppressive levels over a 3-year period. " Development of appropriate and statistically based sampling methods and the location of field sites with adequate natural infestations of Pasteuria. OBJECTIVE 3. Determine the effects of cultural and biological controls of plant-parasitic nematodes on nematode community ecology dynamics at the trophic group level. 2006 Milestones: " Assessment of the impact of soil management practices to promote soil health on nematode diversity and damage in organic and conventional vegetable production systems. New York. The soil infestation levels of the root-knot and lesion nematodes were assessed in 11 suspect vegetable fields using the developed and promoted soil bioassays in 2006. Only 7 of the 11 sampled fields required nematode management before being planted to a susceptible host. New York. Results from an on-going crop rotation test on three farms showed that one year rotation with field corn reduced the population of the root-knot nematode below the established damage level for carrots and onion. However, one year rotation with dry bean only slightly reduced the population of the root-knot nematode, whereas carrot after carrot rotation did not. Root systems of Chenopodium epazote (epazote), a Mexican/Central American plant reputed to have antimicrobial properties when mixed into cooked foodstuffs, were heavily galled by Meloidogyne incognita, but galls on epazote were small compared to tomato. Egg masses on epazote contained fewer than 30 eggs each, whereas egg production on tomato averaged greater than 300/egg mass. New York. In the long-term soil health site near Geneva, NY; total population of plant parasitic nematodes was highest in the plots not planted with a fall cover crop, but these plots became weedy in the spring and summer of 2006 in comparison to those planted with a vetch or rye grain fall cover crop. It was noted that the population of free-living nematodes were highest in plots planted with rye grain as compared to the other two cover crop treatments. West Virginia. A large farming systems trial, begun in 1999 to evaluate transition methods for conversion from conventional to organic farming practices, was continued through 2006. Population densities were low for all plant parasites throughout the study. Population densities of Clarkus papillatus (predator) were higher in compost than non-treated plots in 2002 and 2003, but not in other years. Bacterial feeding nematodes increased over the last four years of the trial. Connecticut. TerraClean (active ingredient 27.18% hydrogen dioxide; EPA Registration No: 70299-5) was evaluated against Pratylenchus penetrans in microplots. Drench treatments of water alone or TerraClean dilutions at up to 2X label rates were added to plots by drip emitters. TerraClean did not affect lesion numbers, AUDPC for senescence, yield of A-grade tubers, marketable tubers or total tuber weight. This research was funded as a part of the IR-4 Biopesticide Program. " Determine carbon utilization preferences using the Biolog and optimize colonization and efficacy of RKN control in microplots. Work on use of Biolog to determine carbon utlization preferences is continuing through 2007. " A Workshops on (i) the identification of nematode-suppressive soils and (ii) demonstration of a soil ELISA assay to detect and quantify Pasteuria species in soil was presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting in Florida by J. Preston, L. Schmidt, and D. Dickson, University of Florida. The workshop successfully transferred information to members of the project working with or screening potential suppressive sites for Pasteuria spp. " A workshop on transferring ecological concepts to production agriculture will be presented at the 2007 annual meeting of this committee. Protocols for evaluating community structure will include when to sample, and standardization of trophic types among free-living nematodes. Other Accomplishments: A neem product and a sesame extract product were tested against plant parasitic nematodes in golf greens in replicated trials. There were no statistical differences between nematode populations in the treated compared to the control plots.

Abawi, G.S., B.K. Gugino, and J.W. Ludwig. 2006. Visual assessment of nematode infestations and management options. Empire State Fruit and Vegetable Expo Proceedings, Cornell Coop. Ext., pp. 158 - 160. Gugino, B.K., G.S. Abawi, and J.W. Ludwig. 2005. Damage and management of the northern root-knot nematode on carrots in New York. Phytoprotection 86(2):138. Gugino, B.K., G.S. Abawi, and J.W. Ludwig. 2006. Bioassay hosts for visual assessment of soil infestations with Pratylenchus penetrans. Phytopathology 96(Suppl.): 44 (Abstr.). Alkharouf, N. W., Klink, V. P., Chouikha, I. B., Beard, H. S., MacDonald, M. H., Meyer, S. L. F., Knap, H. T., Khan, R., and Matthews, B. F. 2006. Timecourse microarray analyses reveal global changes in gene expression of susceptible Glycine max (soybean) roots during infection by Heterodera glycines (soybean cyst nematode). Planta 224:838-852. Cetintas, R., and D. W. Dickson. 2005. Distribution and downward movement of Pasteuria penetrans in field soil. Journal of Nematology 37:155-160. Fery, R.L., and Thies, J.A. 2006. 'Charleston Blackeye', a root-knot resistant, black-eye type southernpea for production of fresh shell peas. HortScience (in press). Han, H-R., D. W. Dickson, and D. P. Weingartner. 2006. Biological characterization of five isolates of Belonolaimus longicaudatus. Nematropica 36:26-35. Han, H-R., A. Jeyaprakash, D. P. Weingartner, and D. W. Dickson. 2006. Morphological and molecular biological characterization of Belonolaimus longicaudatus. Nematropica 36:37-51. Jeyaprakash, A., M. S. Tigano, J. Brito, R. M. D. G. Carneiro, and D.W. Dickson. 2006. Differentiation of Meloidogyne floridensis from M. arenaria using high-fidelity PCR amplified mitochondrial AT-rich sequences. Nematropica 36:1-12. Jordan, K. S. and Mitkowski, N.A. 2006. Soil characteristics and management practices associated with population levels of plant-parasitic nematodes on golf course greens in southern New England. Agronomy Journal (in review). Jordan, K. S. and Mitkowski, N. A. 2006. Population dynamics of plant-parasitic nematodes in golf course greens turf in southern New England. Plant Disease 90:501-505. Krol, W. J. and J. A. LaMondia. 2006. An evaluation of Connecticut-grown canola and soybean as a biodiesel fuel supplemental energy source for Connecticut consumers. CT Department of Agriculture Weekly Agricultural Report. LaMondia, J. A. 2006. Management of lesion nematodes and potato early dying with rotation crops. Journal of Nematology 38:(in press). Meyer, S. L. F., Zasada, I. A, Roberts, D. P., Vinyard, B. T., Lakshman, D. K., Lee, J.-K., Chitwood, D. J., and Carta, L. K. 2006. Plantago lanceolata and Plantago rugelii extracts are toxic to Meloidogyne incognita but not to certain microbes. Journal of Nematology 38:333-338. Pokharel, R.R., G.S. Abawi, J.M. Duxbury, J. Brito, and C.D. Smart. 2006. Variability of isolates of Meloidogyne graminicola obtained from diverse geographic regions. Phytopathology 96 (Suppl.): 182 (Abstr.). Wick, R. and Massoni, S. 2006. Evaluation of AgroNeem for controlling nematodes in golf greens 2005. Biological and Cultural Tests 21:T003. Zasada, I. A., Klassen, W., Meyer, S. L. F, Codallo, M., and Abdul-Baki, A. A. 2006. Velvetbean (Mucuna pruriens) extracts: impact on Meloidogyne incognita survival and on Lycopersicon esculentum and Lactuca sativa germination and growth. Pest Management Science 62:1122-1127.