Occurrence of entomopathogenic nematodes (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in Meghalaya, NE India

Lalramliana , Arun Kumar Yadav

Science Vision 10 (3), 89-100 | Published on 30 September 2010 |

Abstract

In the present study, the entomopathogenic nematodes were recorded from 89 samples (5.37%) out of 1656 samples collected from 20 sites representing ecologically diverse types of habitats in Meghalaya, India. Out of 89 positive samples, the frequency of occurrence of Steinernema spp. was found to be more (73.03%) than Heterorhabditis sp. (26.97%). All the EPN positive samples were from the forest soils except the one isolated from banana plantations near teak forest in Jorabat. No entomopathogenic nematodes were isolated from dryland, jhumland (burned and cultivated land) and wet land (water-saturated soil). Steinernema spp. were mostly isolated from sandy loam soils while Heterorhabditis sp., was isolated from red loamy soil. The isolates were identified as Heterorhabditis indica, Steinernema thermophilum and S. glaseri using morphometric analysis and scanning electron microscopic studies.

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