Diagnosis, Ecology, and Control of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Horticulture

Dear Colleagues,

Plant-parasitic nematodes are a notorious threat to plant health worldwide that compromise yield production and crop quality, and are responsible for significant monetary losses due to horticultural crop damage. These microscopic parasites devitalize plants by causing injury to their roots or aboveground parts.

Given crops’ phytopathological and economic importance, several plant-parasitic nematode species cause major problems for farmers and agricultural companies worldwide; these include: Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica (the root‐knot nematodes); Heterodera glycines (the soybean cyst nematode); Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis (the potato cyst nematodes); Pratylenchus penetrans and P. thornei, (the root-lesion nematodes); Radopholus similis (the burrowing nematode); Ditylenchus dipsaci (the stem and bulb nematode); Rotylenchulus reniformis (the reniform nematode); Xiphinema index (the dagger nematode); and Nacobbus aberrans (the false root-knot nematodes).

Once these plant-parasitic nematodes are present in a field, their eradication is a complex task. Today, chemical nematicides are in disuse because of their toxic effect on the environment, so alternative control methods are urgently needed. Therefore, the use of integrative taxonomy based on ecological, morphological, and molecular data is strongly advised in order to ensure accurate nematode identification at the species level, which is a crucial pre-requisite for designing effective management strategies against them. Moreover, the use of integrated management practices is highly recommended for reducing soil nematode populations. These practices include crop rotation, resistant and tolerant cultivars or rootstocks, cover crops, trap crops, soil amendments, flooding, biofumigation, solarization, heat-based methods, and biological control.

Biological control has proven promising as an economically and ecologically friendly approach to reducing nematode damage. Prompted by strict environmental restrictions, researchers are currently looking for alternative control strategies based on new fungal, viral, and bacterial biological agents (BCAs).

In this Special Issue on the “Diagnosis, Ecology, and Control of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in Horticulture”, the Guest Editors welcome high-quality original research manuscripts, as well as reviews, that focus on identification and detection methods; integrative taxonomy and molecular phylogeny; pathogenicity and host–parasite relationships in diseases caused by nematodes; interactions between plant-parasitic nematodes and other soil microorganisms; biocontrol agents; and new eco-friendly management strategies for plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs).

Dr. Carlos Gutiérrez Gutiérrez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biocontrol
• ecology
• horticulture crops
• integrative taxonomy
• microorganism–nematode interactions
• molecular phylogeny
• plant–nematode interactions
• plant-parasitic nematodes
• pathogenicity
• management strategies