SHORT COMMUNICATION SURVEY OF PLANT PARASITIC NEMATODES ON YAM IN SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is an important staple food for most people in Nigeria. However, it is prone to infection from Nursery stage to harvesting and in storage by plant parasitic nematodes (PPNs) which are account for huge losses in tuber yield and quality. Surveys were conducted during 2020 cropping season to determine the PPNs infecting yam in four Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Niger State. The LGAs were Wushishi, Bosso, Mashegu, and Mokwa within the Southern Guinea Savannah zone of Nigeria. Sixty yam farms were surveyed for PPNs occurrence and damage on yam. Soil samples were collected randomly using soil auger within fifteen yam farms from the four LGAs using multi-stage sampling techniques. The samples were analysed for plant parasitic nematodes using modification of Whitehead and Hemming tray method. In all the LGAs Scutellonema, Rotylenchus, Pratylenchus Meloidogyne and Tylenchus genera were the most abundant of the plant parasitic nematodes. It is suggested that sustainable and effective control measures be formulated for adoption by the farmers.