First report of sugar beet nematode, Heterodera schachtii Schmidt, 1871 (Nemata: Heteroderidae) in sugar beet growing areas of Sanliurfa, Turkey

Abstract

The sugar beet nematode, Heterodera schachtii, is the major pest of sugar beet and causes serious yield losses of about 10-70%. Heterodera schachtii occurs in more than 50 countries and regions, however, there has be limited investigation of H. schachtii in Turkey. Therefore, a survey of H. schachtii in the sugar beet producing regions of Şanlıurfa was conducted in 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. Using morphological and molecular methods, 12 samples collected from three districts, Bozova, Karaköprü and Siverek, in Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey, were identified as H. schachtii. In pathogenicity test, the seedling emergence was delayed and reduced, the seedlings were stunted and necrotic, and the white females of H. schachtii were evident 25 days after inoculation. Phylogenetic analyses were also conducted. The 12 H. schachtii populations from Şanlıurfa Province clustered together with populations from Europe and Morocco at the value of 99%. Sugar beet is the second largest crop in Turkey with the annual production of more 16 Mt. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of H. schachtii in Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey.