Host Specificity of Four Populations of Pratylenchus brachyurus

Four populations of the lesion nematode Pratylenchus brachyurus were tested in a greenhouse on seven selected plant species to determine host suitability and usefulness in identifying physiological races of the nematode. The differential plants were 'Florida 77' alfalfa, 'Harvester' snap bean, 'Rough Lemon' citrus, 'Pioneer 304C' corn, 'Florunner' peanut, 'Braxton' soybean, and 'Rutgers' tomato. Fresh shoot or root weights of plants inoculated with all populations were similar to each other and to the uninoculated control in both experiments. The numbers recovered from Harvester snap bean were different (P = 0.05) between populations in each test and from Braxton soybean in the second test. The differences between populations on snap bean were different in the two tests.