Recent Advance in the Identification and Diagnostics of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes

Dear Colleagues,

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) are recognized as one of the greatest threats to crops causing serious damage in terms of yield production and crop quality. Crop yield losses attributed to PPNs are estimated to exceed 100 billion euros per year. Some of them are serious pests of hundreds of crop plants. They cause severe damages to plants by their direct feeding on root cells. Furthermore, some of these species are included in the list of quarantine organisms of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO).

Among these, the root‐knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), the cyst nematodes (Heterodera spp. and Globodera spp.), the root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.), the burrowing nematode Radopholus similis, and the stem nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci are the top five species ranked at the top in the list of economically plant pathogenic important PPNs.

In the past, chemical fumigants were extensively used by farmers in the control of PPN; however, sharp restrictions in the use of nematicide fumigants worldwide have been established due to their high toxicity to man and the environment. Therefore, the development of a correct integrative approach for plant-pathogenic nematodes detection is a crucial juncture to identify accurately at the species level in PPNs for designing effective management strategies against them.

This Special Issue on “Recent Advance in the Identification and Integrative Diagnosis of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes” will publish articles (original research manuscripts and review articles) that focus on taxonomy, systematics, phylogeny, morphological image analysis, DNA-based methods, enzyme-based methods, and integrative approaches used for the identification of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with economically important agriculture and forestry crops.

Dr. Carlos Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Guest Editor

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