Life cycle and damage of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne minor on potato, Solanum tuberosum

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Nematology 16 (2014) 185-192 brill.com/nemy Life cycle and damage of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne minor on potato, Solanum tuberosum Wim M.L. WESEMAEL 1,2,, Lirette M. TANING 2,NicoleVIAENE 1,2 and Maurice MOENS 1,3 1 Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Burg. Van Gansberghelaan 96, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium 2 Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium 3 Faculty of Bio-science Engineering, Laboratory for Agrozoology, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Received: 4 July 2013; revised: 6 August 2013 Accepted for publication: 12 August 2013; available online: 10 October 2013 Summary Meloidogyne minor is a root-knot nematode reported in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom, Chile and the United States. It is found in sport fields and golf courses where it causes the yellow patch disease. However, M. minor has also been detected in potato fields in The Netherlands and the UK and may pose a threat for potato cultivation. Therefore, the life cycle and damage of M. minor on potato cv. Bintje were examined under controlled conditions. To assess its life cycle, young potato plants were inoculated with freshly hatched second-stage juveniles (J2). The developmental stages of M. minor were recorded at weekly intervals after inoculation until second generation J2 were detected. One week after inoculation, only vermiform juveniles were found in the roots. All juveniles were swollen after 3 weeks and the first adult females were observed. Egg masses were seen after 6 weeks together with second generation J2. The number of degree days for M. minor to complete its life cycle was calculated using a base temperature of 5 C (DD 5 ); between 606 and 727 DD 5 were needed to complete the life cycle. Damage development of M. minor on potato was examined in a pot experiment with different inoculation densities. Symptoms (galling on the tubers) were similar to those caused by M. chitwoodi and M. fallax. At initial population densities (P i )of10j2(100cm 3 soil) 1 and more, tubers showed galls. Severely damaged potato tubers were observed at P i 50 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 and a damage threshold of 41 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 was calculated. An in vitro test showed that five, commonly grown, potato cultivars were good hosts for M. minor. Based on our results, M. minor is able to develop on potato and cause severe damage at low initial population densities. Therefore, further spread of this nematode in agricultural fields should be avoided. Keywords damage threshold, degree days, development, host plant status, population density. Potatoes are subjected to many pests, including nematodes. In addition to cyst nematodes (Globodera spp.), root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) can cause severe damage to potato production. In warmer climates, Meloidogyne enterolobii (Rodriguez et al., 2003; Karssen et al., 2008) and M. javanica (Vovlas et al., 2005) may be a threat for potato culture; in cooler climates M. hapla (Santo & O Bannon, 1981; Nyczepir et al., 1982), M. chitwoodi (Finley, 1981) and M. fallax (Wesemael et al., 2011) are causing major problems. Meloidogyne chitwoodi and M. fallax are listed as quarantine organisms in the EU (EC Directive 2000/29/EC) and EPPO region (A2 list) and, therefore, seed potato tubers should be nematode-free before they are allowed to enter EU traffic (Anon., 2000). Meloidogyne minor is a recently described root-knot nematode species (Karssen et al., 2004). It is reported in Belgium, Ireland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom (Wesemael et al., 2011), Portugal, Chile (Karssen, pers. comm.) and United States (McClure et al., 2012). It was found in sport fields and golf courses where it causes yellow patch disease. However, M. minor was also detected in potato fields in The Netherlands and the UK and hence may pose a threat for potato cultivation. Meloidogyne minor is genetically closely related to M. chitwoodi and M. fallax (Holtermann et al., 2009) and can cause severe quality damage in potato with symptoms on tubers similar to those caused by M. chitwoodi and M. fallax (de Weerdt et al., 2011). It is likely that its life cycle will be similar to that of M. chitwoodi and M. fallax but Corresponding author, e-mail: wim.wesemael@ilvo.vlaanderen.be Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2014 DOI:10.1163/15685411-00002756

W.M.L. Wesemael et al. field observations in The Netherlands indicated only one generation on potato (Thoden et al., 2012). By contrast, M. chitwoodi and M. fallax are known to have multiple generations on potato (Brommer & Molendijk, 2001; Griffin, 1985). The second generation of these species has been found responsible for the damage on potato tubers (Brommer & Molendijk, 2001). The damage threshold for M. chitwoodi on potato was estimated at 1 secondstage juvenile (J2) (250 cm 3 soil) 1 (Santo et al., 1981) but depends on soil and environmental conditions, crop cultivar and cropping system (Greco & Di Vito, 2009). However, information on the damage threshold for M. minor is not available. The objective of this work was to examine the life cycle duration of M. minor on potato, its damage threshold and the host plant status of economically important cultivars to evaluate its threat to potato production. Materials and methods CULTURE OF Meloidogyne minor Nematodes used for the experiments were obtained from stock cultures maintained on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Marmande) under controlled glasshouse conditions (20-28 C, 14 h light period). The population of M. minor originated from The Netherlands (provided by Dr G. Karssen, NVWA, Wageningen, The Netherlands). For the different experiments, freshly hatched (<24 h) J2 were used. Infected tomato plants were uprooted and the roots were carefully washed to remove the soil. The nematodes were extracted from the roots by cutting the roots into small pieces and placing them on a modified Baermann funnel (Hooper, 1986). HOST PLANT STATUS OF POTATO CULTIVARS The host plant status of five potato cultivars (cvs Asterix, Bintje, Nicola, Lady Rosetta and Première) for M. chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. minor was determined by evaluating egg mass formation. Seed potato tubers of the different cultivars were washed, disinfected for 5 min in a 5% sodium hypochlorite solution, thoroughly washed with water and left to sprout. The potatoes were then planted in closed transparent containers (500 ml, 11 cm diam., 8 cm height) filled with 200 g sterilised (130 C, 4 h) and dried white river sand and watered with 30 ml sterile water. The closed containers were stored in an incubator (20 C) assuring a stable temperature and allowing the potatoes to develop in the dark. Ten replicates for each cultivar and nematode species were used. Three weeks after planting, when the tubers of the different cultivars had developed roots, each container was inoculated with 200 J2 of M. minor, M. fallax or M. chitwoodi. Ten weeks after inoculation, the roots were screened for egg masses. The root systems were washed carefully with tap water and then soaked into a Phloxine B solution (0.15-0.20 g per 1 l water; Sigma-Aldrich). Phloxine B stains the gelatinous matrix of egg masses and facilitates counting (Daykin & Hussey, 1985). The roots were left for 15-20 min in the solution and the stained egg masses were counted with the aid of a binocular microscope. LIFE CYCLE OF Meloidogyne minor ON POTATO CV. BINTJE Potato tubers cv. Bintje were washed, disinfected for 5 min in a 5% sodium hypochlorite solution, thoroughly washed with water and left to sprout. After sprouting 60 tubers were planted in pots (9 cm diam.) filled with sterilised river sand and kept in a growth chamber where the temperature was recorded every hour using a data logger (Testo 175-T1; Testo) during the time of the experiment. Three weeks after planting, when roots had developed, each pot was inoculated with 500 freshly hatched J2 (<24 h) of M. minor. One week after inoculation, the plants were removed from the pots, their root systems were washed carefully and the plants were replanted in bigger pots (13 cm diam.) filled with sterilised soil. This was done to remove J2 that had not penetrated the roots thereby allowing detection of J2 of the second generation in the soil. On a weekly basis the developmental stage of M. minor was observed by staining the nematodes inside the roots with acid fuchsin (Byrd et al., 1983). Ten pots were taken randomly every week for nematode observation and the whole root system was monitored. After staining, the root fragments were kept in glycerol in a Petri dish and stored in a cold room at 4 C until observation of the developmental stages with the aid of a binocular microscope. To check for the presence of second generation J2, 200 cm 3 soil was taken from each of the ten pots examined, 5 and 6 weeks after inoculation. Soil samples were subjected to zonal centrifugation (Hendrickx, 1995) to extract nematodes based on their density. The experiment was repeated in time and lasted 5 (Experiment 1) and 6 weeks (Experiment 2). The degree days for M. minor to complete its life cycle was calculated using a base 186 Nematology

Life cycle of Meloidogyne minor on potato temperature (minimum temperature for development) of 5 C. The basal temperature of this species has not been reported but we assumed it to be similar to that of M. chitwoodi (O Bannon & Santo, 1984; Pinkerton et al., 1991). DAMAGE THRESHOLD OF M. minor ON POTATO CV. BINTJE To examine the potential threat of M. minor for potato culture, the damage threshold on cv. Bintje was determined. Cultivar Bintje was chosen as it is the most important cultivar in Belgian agriculture. Seed tubers were washed, disinfected with sodium hypochlorite as described above and left to sprout before planting in pots of 17 cm diam. filled with 2000 cm 3 sterilised sandy soil. The pots were kept in a temperature and light controlled glasshouse (20-28 C, 14 h light). Three weeks after planting, the pots were inoculated with a series of initial population densities (P i ) of freshly hatched J2 of M. minor (0, 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 and 250 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 ). Each P i was replicated seven times. Plants were watered as required and fertilised with a slow release fertiliser (3 g per pot, NPK 16-10-13, Osmocote; Scotts). After 3 months, when the potatoes were maturing, plants were harvested for observation. The roots and tubers were removed from the soil, washed and weighed. The tubers were scored by visual inspection for the presence of galls and damage and the percentage tubers with galls and damage per plant was calculated. Potato tubers with more than 30% galling on their surface were considered severely damaged. Results HOST PLANT STATUS ON POTATO CULTIVARS Egg masses of M. chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. minor were found on the five tested potato cultivars 10 weeks after they had been inoculated (Fig. 1). The number per root system ranged from seven egg masses of M. minor on cv. Première to 139 egg masses of M. fallax on cv. Asterix. There was a significant difference in the number of egg masses between nematode species (F = 58.2, P< 0.01) and potato cultivars (F = 31.2, P < 0.01). The interaction between nematode species and potato cultivar was not significant (F = 1.6, P = 0.12). Meloidogyne fallax produced significantly more (P <0.05) egg masses than M. chitwoodi and M. minor on all five cultivars. Egg mass formation of M. fallax was highest on cvs Asterix, Nicola, and Lady Rosetta. There was no difference in number of egg masses between M. chitwoodi and M. minor for each of the tested potato cultivars. For M. chitwoodi, fewer egg masses were found on cv. Bintje compared with cvs Asterix and Lady Rosetta. There was no difference between cvs Asterix, Nicola, Lady Rosetta and Bintje for M. minor. The lowest number of egg masses for all three species was found on cv. Première. LIFE CYCLE OF Meloidogyne minor ON CV. BINTJE During both experiments, separated in time, the temperature was stable at 22.3 ± 0.65 C. In the first experiment STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Egg mass formation of M. chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. minor on the different potato cultivars was subjected to a factorial ANOVA after log transformation of the data. Differences between species were analysed with a Fisher LSD test (P < 0.05). For the life cycle assay, the total number of M. minor (all life stages) observed inside the potato roots at the different times was analysed with ANOVA. For all analyses the Statistica 11 program was used. To determine the damage threshold the Seinhorst equation (Seinhorst, 1965) was calculated using the SeinFit program (Viaene et al., 1997). Fig. 1. Mean number of egg masses (± SE) of Meloidogyne minor, M. chitwoodi and M. fallax per root system of five potato cultivars (cvs Asterix, Nicola, Lady Rosetta, Bintje and Première). Different letters indicate significant differences (LSD-test, P<0.05). Vol. 16(2), 2014 187

W.M.L. Wesemael et al. Fig. 3. Galling and damage caused by Meloidogyne minor on tubers of potato cv. Bintje in a pot experiment with initial population densities (P i ) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 and 250 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1. Tubers with more than 30% of their surface galled were considered severely damaged. The vertical bars represent the standard error of the mean. Fig. 2. Mean number (nematodes plant 1 )ofdevelopmental stages of Meloidogyne minor inside the roots of potato cv. Bintje at different times after inoculation with 500 freshly hatched second-stage juveniles. The experiment was repeated in time and ended after 5 weeks (Experiment 1) or 6 weeks (Experiment 2). The vertical bars represent the standard error of the mean. vermiform juveniles were found in the roots 1 week after inoculation (Fig. 2). After 2 weeks, swollen juveniles were detected but vermiform juveniles were still present. All juveniles were swollen after 3 weeks and the first adult females were observed. In the 4th and 5th week after inoculation a small proportion of swollen juveniles was still present, together with females. No J2 were found in the soil 5 weeks after inoculation. The total number of nematodes found inside the roots after 1 week was higher than the number found after 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks (F = 5.15, P<0.01). In the second experiment the developmental stages of M. minor found in the roots after 1 and 2 weeks were similar to those in Experiment 1 (Fig. 2). Three weeks after inoculation the number of females was higher than in Experiment 1. The 5th and 6th week after inoculation, a small proportion of swollen juveniles were still present. After 6 weeks females with egg masses were observed and new vermiform juveniles were found in the roots. Second generation J2 (ranging from 1 to 5 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 ) were found in the soil of four replicates 6 weeks after inoculation. The total number of nematodes in the roots did not change during the experiment (F = 1.00, P = 0.424) as seen in Experiment 1. Based on the observation of J2 of the second generation after 6 weeks, the number of degree days (base temperature = 5 C) for M. minor to complete its life cycle was between 606 and 727 DD 5. DAMAGE THRESHOLD OF M. minor ON POTATO CV. BINTJE At low P i (1, 2 and 5 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 ) no galls were observed on the tubers of cv. Bintje 3 months after inoculation with M. minor (Fig. 3). Tubers with galls were detected at a P i of 10 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 and their percentage increased with increasing P i. Severely damaged tubers (>30% galling) were observed at P i 50 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 and their percentage increased with increasing P i.atp i = 250 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1, 75% 188 Nematology

Life cycle of Meloidogyne minor on potato of the tubers showed severe damage. Damaged tubers showed severe galling (Fig. 4) with many females below the skin of the tubers. The damage threshold (T ) for quality damage on tubers was 41 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1, based on the Seinhorst model (R 2 = 0.58) (Fig. 5). Parameters of the model (Table 1) indicate that the minimum yield was 25% of the maximum yield. Discussion Fig. 4. Damage caused by Meloidogyne minor on potato cv. Bintje. This figure is published in colour in the online edition of this journal, which can be accessed via http://booksandjournals. brillonline.com/content/15685411. Meloidogyne minor has been found in potato fields in Northern Ireland (Fleming, pers. comm.) and The Netherlands (Karssen et al., 2004). At the location from which M. minor was isolated in 2000 in The Netherlands, the potato tubers (unknown cultivar) were seemingly not infected at the time of isolation and did not show any symptoms. In a field experiment in 2009, big pear-shaped galls were observed on the roots and white females were detected below the skin of tubers of cvs Asterix and Markies but no symptoms were noticed on the outside of the tubers (Thoden et al., 2012). In our experiments we observed heavy infection with numerous skin blemishes and white females with egg masses below the skin of cv. Bintje. These symptoms were also reported by Karssen et al. (2004) and Thoden et al. (2012) from pot tests with M. Fig. 5. Seinhorst model for the damage caused by Meloidogyne minor on potato cv. Bintje at different initial population densities (P i ). The model was calculated with the SeinFit program (Viaene et al., 1997). Vol. 16(2), 2014 189

W.M.L. Wesemael et al. Table 1. Parameter estimates of the Seinhorst model for damage on tubers of potato cv. Bintje grown in 2000 cm 3 pots caused by Meloidogyne minor at 11 initial population densities (P i ) from 0-250 second-stage juveniles (J2) (100 cm 3 soil) 1. Parameter a y m m R 2 m T z y m 0.25 41 0.99 100 25 0.58 a The Seinhorst model is of the form: Y = y m for P i T and Y = (y m m) + y m (1 m) z P i T for P i >T; y m = maximum yield without nematode damage, m = a constant so that y m m equals the minimum yield, z = parameter determining the slope of the curve, T = damage threshold (J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 ). minor and are similar to those caused by M. chitwoodi and M. fallax on potato; this was also reported by de Weerdt et al. (2011). However, the damage threshold that we determined for M. minor on potato is markedly higher compared with M. chitwoodi and M. fallax. Based on the Seinhorst model we found a threshold of P i = 41 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1. Santo et al. (1981) reported a damage threshold of less than 1 J2 (250 cm 3 soil) 1 for M. chitwoodi on potato cv. Russet Burbank and in The Netherlands a threshold of 10 J2 (100 cm 3 soil) 1 is applied for this species (Norshie et al., 2011). For M. chitwoodi it was shown in a field experiment that degreeday accumulation during the growing season was more important than initial population densities for damage development on potato tubers cv. Russet Burbank (Griffin, 1985). The damage is caused by the second- and thirdgenerations, which are formed when tubers are present. Possibly, the same reasons apply for damage of M. minor on tubers. The damage was determined after 3 months in a pot test giving ample time for at least a second generation to develop. When calculating the thermal time (degree days), knowledge of the base temperature (T b ) is important (Trudgill et al., 2005). Pinkerton et al. (1991) estimated from field studies on potato a T b of 5 C for M. chitwoodi. The T b for M. minor has not been reported but we assumed it to be similar to that of M. chitwoodi. Similarities in reproduction biology on potato between M. minor and M. chitwoodi have been reported by Thoden et al. (2012). J2 of M. minor were able to survive in water at 4 C for more than 12 weeks (Wesemael et al., 2012). Morris et al. (2011) showed limited activity (movement) of J2 of M. minor at 4 C and 100% activity at 10 C. This supports our choice for 5 C as T b for development. However, it is unknown if J2 of M. minor can penetrate and develop within root tissue at this temperature. Hence, more research on this aspect is required. Morris et al. (2011) demonstrated that hatching of J2 was less than 1% when egg masses were incubated for 63 days at temperatures below 10 C. The optimum temperature for hatching was determined at 20-25 C and the optimum temperature for activity was 15-25 C (Morris et al., 2011). Our experiment to determine the life cycle duration of M. minor was performed at 22.3 C which is in the optimum temperature range for activity. At 22.3 C it took 35-42 days for M. minor to complete its life cycle. This is comparable with M. arenaria, M. hapla, M. incognita and M. javanica, whose life cycles took 36, 43, 37 and 43 days, respectively, at 21 C (Ploeg & Maris, 1999). Observations at shorter time intervals are required to compare precisely among species. Based on the nematode development at set temperature, we calculated that M. minor requires 606-727 DD 5 to complete its life cycle on potato. This is similar to that found for M. chitwoodi, which required 600-800 DD 5 (Pinkerton et al., 1991). As for M. chitwoodi and M. fallax, it seems that M. minor is able to produce several generations during one growing season. This corroborates findings by Turner & Fleming (2005). However, based on reproduction under field conditions on potatoes, Thoden et al. (2012) assumed only one generation per year was produced. Their experimental fields were located on the island Texel in the northwest of The Netherlands. Based on the mean daily air temperatures of the weather station at Vlieland (data KNMI, The Netherlands), 20 km from their experimental field, approximately 1890 DD 5 were reached during the potato field period, which should have allowed a second generation. Therefore, the females they observed in the tubers were probably second generation females. In east Ireland, egg masses of M. minor were detected during the whole year on creeping bentgrass (Morris et al., 2011), but the mean number of eggs per egg mass peaked in May and September. The total degree days (base 5 C) per year in east Ireland is 1631, based on monthly average soil temperatures at 10 cm depth from the period 1981-2010 (data from Casement weather station, MET éireann). In the period 1 June 30 August a total of 955 DD 5 is reached and from 1 September until 31 May 677 DD 5 are accumulated. If we assume that the peaks in the number of eggs indicate the completion of a generation then the observations by Morris et al. (2011) confirm our estimation for the duration of the life cycle of M. minor. The results on the host plant status showed that the egg mass formation of M. minor on five important commercial potato cultivars was similar to the egg mass formation 190 Nematology

Life cycle of Meloidogyne minor on potato of M. chitwoodi but less than that of M. fallax. We did not assess the number of eggs per egg mass. The three Meloidogyne species had fewer egg masses on cv. Première when compared with the other cultivars. This could have been influenced by the fact that the seed tuber of cv. Première started deteriorating during the time of the experiment in the closed containers. Cultivar Première is an early potato with a shorter field period than the other cultivars (NIVAP, 2003). Given the generally high numbers of egg masses we can consider all screened cultivars to be good hosts for M. chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. minor. Our results on the biology show that M. chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. minor may be closely related. Molecularly M. minor is closely related to M. chitwoodi and M. fallax (Karssen et al., 2004; Holterman et al., 2009; McClure et al., 2012). 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