First report of Heterodera hordecalis, a cereal cyst nematode, on wheat in Algeria

Abstract

In June 2016, six soil samples were collected from durum wheat (Triticum durum) fields of Guellal (36°2'7" N; 5°20'12" E), Hammam Sokhna (35°58’60" N; 5°48’0" E), Ain Arnat (36°10’60" N; 5°19’0" E), Seriana (35°41’37'' N; 6°11’12'' E), Sebaine (33°39’0'' N; 0°12’0'' E), and Maghnia (34°51’42" N; 1°43’50" W),located in the Algerian provinces of Setif, Batna, Tiaret, and Tlemcen. The surveyed wheat fields had stunted patches, poor plant growth, chlorotic lower leaves, and few or no tillers. Cysts were extracted from the soil using a Fenwick Can technique (Fenwick 1940) and identified. Morphologically, cysts were rounded, deep yellow to brown, with a thick subcrystalline layer, small vulval cone, bifenestrate, two almost circular semifenestrates separated from each other by a rather wide vulval bridge, vulval slit obviously covered by a flap, and bullae present at the underbridge level.