First Report of the Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne ardenensis on Lady's Mantle in Norway

In August 2000, several small galls were observed on roots of lady's mantle (Alchemilla acutiloba Opiz) from an old grassland near Kristiansund in northern Norway. These plants, without clear above-ground symptoms, were infected with an unknown root-knot nematode. Soil and plant samples were collected in July 2001 at the previous year's location and sent for identification to the Plant Protection Service in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The smooth elongated galls included several males, swollen adult females with protruding small egg masses and hatching second-stage juveniles. Males and second-stage juveniles also were isolated from adhering soil. The root-knot nematode was identified as Meloidogyne ardenensis Santos (1). Identification was based on female, male, and second-stage juvenile morphology and female isozyme electrophoresis with malate dehydrogenase and esterase. M. ardenensis parasitizes several dicotyledonous hosts, primarily herbaceous and woody plants, and is distributed throughout Europe, with Scotland the most northern area (2). To our knowledge, this is not only the first published report of M. ardenensis in Scandinavia, but also the first report of this species on lady's mantle. References: (1) M. S. N. de A. Santos. Nematologica 13:593, 1968. (2) P. R. Thomas and D. J. F. Brown. Plant Pathol. 30:147, 1981.