Meloidogynidae

plant parasitic nematodes • pests-diseases-weeds

tobacco cyst nematode
Source: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Slide Set, through: IPM Images

Meloidogynidae - (root-knot nematodes)

The family is related to the Heteroderidae and has been previously treated as a subfamily of that group. The members of the Meloidogynidae differ from those of the Heteroderidae by:

• the feeding site is a multinucleate giant cell (not a syncytium where root cells fuse through the dissolving cell walls),
• females are not transformed into a cyst, but lay egg masses in a protective gelatinous matrix,
• parthenogenic reproduction is common,
• species have a wide host range.

For details on the biology see the genus Meloidogyne.