Plant Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Banana Crops (Musa AAA) in District Patiala, Punjab, India

Seven plant parasitic nematode species were identified in root and soil of banana orchards (Musa AAA-Cavendish sub group) ‘Grand Nain’ in the Shekhpura village in district Patiala, Punjab, India. They were Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica, Hoplolaimus chambus, Rotylenchulus reniformis, Pratylenchus coffeae, Longidorous siddiqii and a free living nematodes Thornenema sp. A total of 720 samples of root and rhizospheric soil from 10 fields were collected and examined. All the samples were infested with plant parasitic nematodes. H. chambus was the most common and widely distributed species showed 63.8% incidence with relative frequency of 25.9%, M. incognita was the next common species with root gall index ranging from 4 to 5. 500 samples showed mixed infestations and the most common combination was H. chambus + M. incognita + M. javanica + L. siddiqii (13.8%).