The need to identify and name organisms is fundamental to any area of biological science, basic or applied. In order to study or conduct research on an organism, or to convey information on this organism to others, we must be able to attribute to it a consistent label. Attribution of an incorrect label may have dire consequences if dangerous plant parasites are wrongly identified as members of an innocuous genus. Traditional aids to nematode identification (dichotomous keys) use systematic criteria not always well adapted to practical identification. Their reliance on dichotomous principlesdoes not allow for intra-taxon variability or for missing characters. They are difficult to update and they cannot keep pace with rapidly changing classifications. As experts in everyday life, we recognize a horse or a dog wi thout referring to the taxonomic descriptions of the genera Equus or Canis and their respective species. Problems in identification arise when we are not experts in the recognition of a particular organism, or group of organisms. Then, frequently in considerable frustration, we reflect on the usefulness of having the advice of an expert in this group. Tradi tional identification aids are useful tools for the expert identifiers, and for teaching. Their use is often difficult for general practitioners in nematology, and they may lead to incorrect identification, even at the genus level.

Formerly titled Plant-Parasitic Nematodes: A Pictorial Key to Genera, this volume has been the standard work on plant disease around the globe. Now in its fifth edition, it remains the fundamental reference for students as well as for diagnosticians—a usable, comprehensive key to plant-parasitic nematodes and the only guide to feature both photographs and drawings. Accompanied by full-page plates, the book offers descriptions of 68 genera, including most that have one or more species known to be plant parasites. The bibliography of approximately 2,500 entries on the taxonomy and morphology of nematode genera is one of the fullest on this subject. For the present edition, the authors have made revisions throughout and have added references to more than two hundred genera not previously included. An updated taxonomy, glossary, and an index are also provided. William F. Mai is Liberty Hyde Bailey Emeritus professor, Peter G. Mullin is Coordinator of Laboratory Instruction, and Howard H. Lyon is Biological Photographer (retired) in the Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University.

The spiral plant-parasitic nematode genus Rotylenchus contains a cosmopolitan group of nematodes that is predominantly found in temperate regions of the world. In this genus are included a number of species of significant economic importance in agriculture. They parasitize a wide-range of hosts, including vegetables, ornamentals, and fruit and forest trees. The book comprises seven sections and presents summarised and specialised information on various aspects of the spiral nematodes belonging to the genus Rotylenchus. Sections 1 and 2 describe the importance of Rotylenchus species in agricultural crops, their distribution and numerous aspects of their biology, feeding habits, pathogenicity to vegetables, fruit and forest trees, and ecology. Section 3 presents different management strategies for the most important and pathogenic species of Rotylenchus, including chemical control, crop rotation, and biological control by means of nematophagous fungi, entomopathogenic nematodes, the hyperparasitic bacteria Pasteuria penetrans, and nematicidal plants. Sections 4 and 5 describes the most important morphological characters used in characterising and diagnosing species, as well as a broad discussion on the taxonomy and systematics in Rotylenchus and related genera, including a list of nominal species. These sections also include morphometric and cluster analyses in order to separate groups of species in order to facilitate identification. Section 6 provides a complete description and measurements of all populations characterised for each species, as well as their world distribution. Finally, Section 7 includes comprehensive tabular and dichotomous keys for species identification.

Covering all aspects of practical plant nematology in subtropical and tropical agriculture, the third edition of this definitive global reference work is fully revised and in full colour throughout. It covers the presence, distribution, symptomology and management of all economically important plant parasitic nematodes damaging the world's major food and cash crops. This includes: rice, cereals, solanum and sweet potatoes (and other root and tuber crops), food legumes, vegetables, peanut, citrus, fruit tree crops, coconut and other palms, coffee, cocoa, tea, bananas, sugarcane, tobacco, pineapple, cotton, other tropical fibres, spices and medicinal plants. New content for this edition includes: A chapter on nematode soil biodiversity and soil health; Reflections on the future impact of nematodes and nematology on food security; The importance of climate change, emerging threats, and new management technologies for large and small subsistence growers; Significant revisions to the IPM chapter and chapters on vegetables, citrus, legumes, tuber crops, cotton, peanut and banana where major advances in nematode management have occurred. This book is highly illustrated, with up-to-date practical guidance on methods of extraction, processing and diagnosing of different plant and soil nematodes and on integrated pest management. It remains an invaluable resource for those studying and working in the area of crop protection.

Root-knot nematodes are the most economically important group of plant-parasitic nematodes worldwide, and their control presents a major global challenge. Advances are being made in understanding their biology, host-parasite interaction and management strategies. Covers the taxonomy, classification, morphology, life-cycle biology, genomes, resistance, sampling, detection, and management strategies of these pests.

Diagnosis of Plant Virus Diseases presents a comprehensive summary of methods currently available for the diagnosis of plant diseases caused by viruses and viroids. Up-to-date literature references are provided, brief accounts of the basis for particular methods are included, and detailed protocols are presented. Procedures discussed include the use of host plants, electron microscopy of in vitro preparations, serological procedures (especially forms of ELISA, monoclonal antibodies, serological specific electron microscopy, and immunoblotting), and nucleic acid hybridization procedures. Strategies are outlined for implicating virus-like pathogens as causes of diseases of unknown etiology, and problems involved in identifying complexes of transmission-dependent and helper viruses are discussed. The book will be extremely useful for phytopathologists, plant virologists, and research students and workers in plant virology laboratories and diagnostic plant pathology laboratories.

This unique book contains not only a comprehensive up-to-date summary of the achievements made in all areas of Nematology in South Africa over more than half a century, but it also combines this rather technical part with an insiders narrative of how Nematology started and developed. It also demonstrates how the South African community of nematologists gradually adapted to major changes in agriculture. These were due to a major political shift followed by socio-economic changes and this in an often challenging natural environment. At the same time this book is conceived as a useful source for young scientists to provide them with practical knowledge and critical insight in the field of Nematology. The information given is based primarily on research conducted by nematologists in South Africa. Most of this research was aimed at finding workable solutions for nematological problems confronted by both large-scale commercial producers and smallholding farmers. During a period when funding for scientific research is becoming increasingly scarce, the future demand and quest for practical solutions by applied research will only increase.