Heterodera Latipons on Barley in Jordan

Abstract

A survey of major barley-growing areas in Jordan was conducted to determine the prevalence and degree of infestation of the Mediterranean cereal cyst nematode (MCCN) Heterodera latipons. The nematode was found in several locations in the northern and southern Mediterranean and the eastern desert areas of Jordan, but it was not detected in the northern Jordan valley and the southern desert areas. In those areas where the cyst nematode occurred, the incidence varied between areas from 30 to 100%. The degree of infestation varied from moderate to very severe. Infestation was most severe in the fields of the Northern Mediterranean area. The MCCN completed one life cycle per growing season. Studies on three isolates of the nematode from three areas, Ar-Ramtha, Madaba, and Al- Karak, revealed that the morphometrics varied little among these isolates. These three isolates as a whole varied in their virulence to two commonly used barley cultivars, Rum and Acsade 106, being more virulent on cv. Rum than on cv. Acsade 106. However, the isolates also varied among each other in their virulence to the same cultivar, Ar-Ramtha being the most virulent on cv. Rum, Madaba the most virulent on cv. Acsade 106.