Tillage and multiple cropping systems and population dynamics of phytoparasitic nematodes

The effect of two cropping and tillage systems on the population dynamics of four nematode species was evaluated on a loamy sand. Hairy vetch succeeded by corn or grain sorghum was seeded in split plots randomized within whole plots of no-tillage versus conventional tillage over four growing seasons (1980-83). The vetch-corn cropping system increased the density of Meloidogyne incognita 2.9 x more than the vetch-grain sorghum cropping system. In contrast, the vetch-grain sorghum cropping system increased the density of Criconemella ornata 0.7 x more than the vetch-corn cropping system. Meloidogyne incognita and C. ornata were affected more by these cropping systems than were Pratylenchus brachyurus or Paratrichodorus minor. Multiple cropping systems, vetch varieties, and crop host preference affected nematode population densities, whereas tillage treatments, conventional or no-tillage, had little effect on them.