Studies on Plant Parasitic Nematodes on Banana in Sennar and Kassala States

Abstract

The burrowing nematode (Radopholus similis) causes a lot of damage the world over, and is capable of destroying major banana plantations as well as citruses, Plant yield losses as high as 50% have been observed under heavy nematode infestation. The objective of this study is to obtain baseline information on plant parasitic nematodes associated with banana farms in Sennar and Kassala areas and the damage of banana nematode Radopholus Similis. A survey was conducted at two main banana growing states, Sennar and Kassala. Samples of plant roots and soil from the rhizosphere zone were collected randomly from 25 and 10 farms randomly selected from Sennar and Kassala States respectively, representing the type of varieties grown, irrigation system, soil type, machinery used, source of new planting (suckers), cropping system and crop rotation. Nematode extraction was undertaken using the Baermann-funnel technique.The results showed that nematode densities was

higher in Kassala than in Sennar State.The most prevailing nematode species identified associated with plant rhizosphere in the two states were, Pratylenchus Spp., Helicotylenchus Sp., Rotylenchus sp., Scutellonema Sp.,Xiphinema Sp., Longidorus Sp., Tylenchus Sp., Radopholus Sp. and Hoplolaimus Sp. However, the nematode species, Radopholus similis was predominantly isolated from roots as well as rhizosphere regions of banana in the two States.