Root-KNOT NEMATODES, Meloidogyne spp., are one of the important plant parasitic NEMATODES of tomato in the world. The most suitable control method of plant parasitic NEMATODES is the use of resistance sources and tolerant cultivars. In the earlier studies, the results showed thatonly 2% (19 out of 537 varieties) were resistant and tolerant to the root KNOT NEMATODES. In the supplementary studies, the susceptibility of these 19 tomato cultivars were reassessed again, against M. javanica, in the two completely randomized design experiments in the greenhouse and field conditions for the two continuous years. The tomato plants were evaluated 70 days after inoculation on the basis of the gall indexes (GI), final populations (Pf), reproduction factors (Rf) and the root and or the stem weights. The results showed that, the cultivars No.136 and 109 with GI=2, Rf=4.68 and GI=2.25, Rf=28.4 are tolerant cultivars to the nematode, M. javanica in the greenhouse respectively. Also, the cultivar No. 100 was considered to be a susceptible one, with GI=3.25 and Rf=0.97. Whereas, in the field conditions, the cultivars 136 and 109 proved to be tolerant with GI, 1.9 and 1.6 respectively.

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and severity of root-KNOT NEMATODES in peach orchards in the Pothwar Region of Pakistan. Thirty-seven peach orchards were surveyed in the region and root and soil samples were collected from 10 randomly selected plants in each orchard for analysis. In the region, an overall incidence rate of 19.8% and a prevalence rate of 65.7% of root-KNOT NEMATODES were observed. The district Attock exhibited the highest prevalence rate of 71.43% and incidence rate of 34.29%. Conversely, the district Islamabad displayed the lowest prevalence rate of 50.5% and incidence rate of 10%. The surveys encountered five distinct peach varieties, and Early Grand had the highest prevalence (85.71%) of root-KNOT NEMATODES while Local Aroo showed the lowest (50%). Florida Gold and Aroo-5 were not infested with root-KNOT NEMATODES. In the region, peach trees were found to be infected by two types of root-KNOT NEMATODES, namely, Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica., which was more prevalent than M. incognita, and it dominated all districts, except for Attock, where M. incognita was dominant. M. incognita was not present in Islamabad district. The occurrence of M. incognita and M. javanica as single populations were observed in 26.09 and 43.48% of orchards, respectively, while mixed populations were found in 30.43% of peach orchards. The overall galling index of the root-KNOT NEMATODES was 1.33, with the highest index in Attock and the lowest in Islamabad districts. Among the different peach cultivars, the Early Grand cultivar exhibited the maximum galling index, whereas no galling index was observed in the Florida Gold and Aroo-5 cultivars. It is recommended that stringent control strategies should be adopted to prevent the spread of NEMATODES to new plantations and to eradicate them from established orchards.

Root KNOT NEMATODES (Meloidogyne spp.) ranked among the top five major plant pathogens because of their world wide distribution, extensive host ranges and involvement with fungi and bacteria in disease complexes. The previous studies on the host ranges of Meloidogyne species, on some of the medicinal plants indicated that the plants such as plantain, hemp, parsley, ash, spearmint and coriander are the hosts of several species of rootKNOT NEMATODES in Iran and Esfahan province (AKHIANI et al, 1984. Iran. J. Plant Path 20) In order to determine the specific hosts of each species on medicinal plants ,130 soil and root samples were collected from the various research stations in Esfahan, including, Dastgerd, Najafabab, and Kashan during 1999-2002.

Root KNOT nematode is one of the important plant pathogens that causes damage to many crops, including greenhouse crops. Pepper is an agricultural crop which its cultivation has increased in recent years, especially in greenhouses. Most of the adopted management methods for this nematode have not met the required efficiency. In this study, reaction of some pepper cultivars (Elmina, Tuvana, Chaliston, Sera Demre8, hybrid Aristotle, the California Wonder, Dymaz and Green chilli) to the presence or absence of two root-KNOT NEMATODES (M. javanica and M. incognita) was investigated. The nematode was isolated from infested root samples collected from Isfahan and Saveh greenhouses and was identified by the morphometric and morphological characteristics. NEMATODES were reared on tomato. The seeds of pepper cultivars were sown in seedling trays and the seedlings with similar growth were transferred to the main pots (having diameter of 15 cm) containing 2 kg of sterilized soil (1: 1: 1 field soil, sand and manure). At the 4-leaf stage, they were inoculated with 2500 eggs and larvae per kg soil. The experiment was carried out as a factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications. Four months after nematode inoculation, results were evaluated using plants’ growth indices (fresh and dry weight of roots and shoots, length of roots and height of shoots) and growth and developmental factors of NEMATODES (number of moths per g of root, number of egg colonies per g of roots, number of eggs per colony of eggs, and population of second age larvae per 200 g soil). The Chaliston, California Wonder, hybrid Aristotle and Tuvana cultivars showed low sensitivity to M. javanica nematode, compared to other cultivars. The growth and developmental indices of NEMATODES in different cultivars showed significant difference. Therefore, based on the Canto-Saenz system, they were divided into two groups of sensitive and resistant cultivars. But all the cultivars were susceptible to M. incognita nematode, except California Wonder cultivar.

National Botanical Garden of Iran (NBGI) includes endemic and exotic plants that besides a source of plant genetics, it is considered as a wealthy source for research and education of botany in Iran. The plant parasitic NEMATODES in some collections including Hyrcanian habitat, Zagros habitat and Medicinal and aromatic garden were studied by collecting soil and root samples from trees, shrubs and annual plants. The NEMATODES were identified based on morphological and morphometric characters and based on these characters 34 species belonging to 19 genera were identified. Pratylenchus spp. with four species, followed by Helicotylenchus, Meloidogyne and Paratylenchus each one with three species were the more frequent genera. The species of Tylenchidae family showed higher frequency and multiplicity in Medicinal and aromatic collection. Due to infection of Brant’ s oak (Quercus brantii Lindl. ), oak manna (Q. infectoria Oliv. ), Pistacia atlantica and a few of medicinal plants to some species of plant parasitic NEMATODES i. e. Root KNOT NEMATODES, Root Lesion NEMATODES, Ring and Dagger NEMATODES, establishment of new plots with the seedlings free from the plant parasitic NEMATODES is emphasised. Cephalenchus daisuce, Coslenchus capsici from Hyrcanian habitat and Paratylenchus ciccaronei from Medicinal and aromatic garden are new records from Iran.