1Department of Nematology, Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar.
2Division of Namatology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012.
*Part of Ph.D: Thesis submitted by the senior author to P.G. School, IARI, New Delhi-110 012.
A population of root knot nematode, collected from the roots of tomato from Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India, was identified as Meloidogyne hapla, and was characterised morphologically as well as morphometrically. The perineal patterns of the females were mostly elliptical and typical of the species with distinct punctations concentrated in the area between anus and the tail terminus, small vulval slit and closely located phasmids: lateral field with two distinct incisures and often the striae of dorsal and ventral arch formed lateral wings. Most of its morphological and morphometrical characters were similar to those described earlier by Chitwood (1949) and Whitehead (1968). However, it showed some variations from the former in having less value for DGO in females and b in second stage juveniles (J2) and slightly higher values for L, c, stylet and DGO in J2. From the latter, it differed by having higher values for stylet lenght in famales and L, c’ and stylet length in J2. The present popultation also showed some variations when compared with morphometric data of Jepson (1987). These were, however, considered as intraspecific variations of M. hapla. The morphometric characters have also been assessed on the basis of coefficient of variability.
Indian population, Meloidogyne hapla, morphometrical, root knot nematode, taxonomy, variations
