Sampling procedures and damage thresholds for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) on pineapple

Abstract

The relationship between the population density of root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) and pineapple yield was studied by establishing different nematode densities in field plots at 3 sites. Differences in nematode populations between treatments were apparent 9–22 months after planting, but yields in the plant crop were similar, regardless of nematode density. In the ratoon crop, yields in treatments with less than 10 nematodes/200 mL soil at 9–22 months were reduced by about 10%. Yield reductions of more than 25% occurred when population densities were greater than 50 nematodes/200 mL soil. These results demonstrate that economically significant crop losses from root-knot nematodes can occur in pineapple when the population density at 12 months is greater than 1–5 nematodes/200 mL soil.
The sampling procedures required to obtain reliable estimates of M. javanica in pineapple fields were determined by studying nematode distribution in 2 fields in south-east Queensland. Nematodes were extracted from more than 100 individual soil cores on a 5 by 5 m grid and populations were found to have a clumped rather than random distribution. A composite sample of 41 cores in 1 field and 72 cores in the other gave a relatively precise estimate of the population of root-knot nematodes (i.e. standard error : mean ratio of 0.3). These data suggest that a 50-core sampling unit is appropriate when nematode population density is being estimated for decision-making purposes.