PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODES ASSOCIATED WITH CITRUS AND CULTURAL MANAGEMENT OF Pratylenchus jaehni.

• Grant number: 23/12958-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Mário Massayuki Inomoto
• Grantee: Eduarda Kalena Kirsch de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes are pathogens of many agricultural crops. Considering only citrus orchards, the losses caused by nematodes is around 12% in the world. Due to the importance of the citrus sector for Brazil, studies related to citrus plant health are vast. However, studies involving nematological surveys have not been performed for almost two decades and the analysis of edaphoclimatic variables and the main species of plant-parasitic nematodes is unprecedented until then. Therefore, the present work aims to (i) carry out a survey of the main taxa of nematodes associated with citrus in the São Paulo citrus belt; (ii) determine the main edaphoclimatic variables related to the abundance and incidence of the species found and (iii) evaluate the performance of green manures for the cultural management of the main species. Samples must be collected in at least 50 orchards distributed across different sectors of the citrus belt (North, Northwest, Center, South and Southwest). Root and soil samples will be processed using the Hussey & Barker (1973) methods modified by Bonetti and Ferraz (1981) and Jenkins (1964), respectively. Taxon identification will be based on the morphology and morphometry of adult individuals. The analysis will envolve the development of generalized linear models, evaluating the influence of edaphoclimatic factors on the incidence and abundance of the main taxa with the software R. Furthermore, the four main species surveyed will undergo reproduction factor tests in different green manures, with the aim of cultural management of plant-parasitic nematodes in citrus orchards.