Strawberry is a host plant for Meloidogyne fallax
In 2003, studies were done in the Netherlands in cooperation with the Dutch NPPO on the host suitability of 4 strawberry cultivars (Fragaria ananassa cvs. ‘Ciflorette’, ‘Elsanta’, ‘Kimberly’, ‘Mara des bois’) for Meloidogyne fallax (EPPO A2 list). The experiment was conducted on a field naturally infested by M. fallax but not by M. hapla, near Wintelre (province of Noord-Brabant). At harvest time in October, the number of root galls was assessed. Cultivars ‘Mara des bois’ and ‘Ciflorette’ did not show any typical root-knot symptoms; ‘Elsanta’ and ‘Kimberly’ expressed only few galls. But high numbers of nematodes were extracted from the roots using the centrifugal floating method. These results suggested that despite the lack of clear root-galling or visible plant reduction, the tested strawberry cultivars were good hosts for M. fallax. In addition, this suggested that strawberry transplants grown in infested soil could spread M. fallax. The Dutch NPPO will envisage the possibility of having a root-knot nematode test in addition to visual root inspection, before strawberry plants are shipped and planted.
Sources
van der Sommen ATC, den Nijs LJMF, Karssen G (2005) The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne fallax on strawberry in the Netherlands. Plant Disease 89(5), p 526.