Plant-Parasitic Nematodes of Turfgrasses in North America

Plant-parasitic nematodes are increasingly important in turfgrass systems due to changes in public demands for high turfgrass quality standards and low environmental impacts, loss of heavy metal pesticides along with the development of new nematode management tools, and the expanding range of some highly virulent species. This has subsequently increased demand for turfgrass nematode diagnosis, and many diagnostic labs struggle with proper interpretation of these samples. In this review, we discuss some of the factors contributing to the increased demand for turfgrass nematode diagnostics and the challenges of providing meaningful results. We also provide a review of the different families of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with turfgrasses in North America and their relative importance.