Author: K. NASIRA, N. SHAHEEN AND F. SHAHINA

E-ISSN: 0255-7576

Volume: 29 Issue: 1

ABSTRACT:

Root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp., infect several agricultural crops world wide. Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) being an important fruit crop was reported to be attacked by Meloidogyne javanica and M.incognita from Balochistan, Pakistan (Khan et al., 2005) and M. incognita from lower Sindh (Khan & Shaukat, 2005). Recently pomegranate orchards in Swat, KPK (ExNWFP) particularly Archan area was observed to be heavily infected by the root knot nematode. On uprooting such infected plants, numerous small to big size galls/ knots were noticed on the roots, resulting in very poorly developed root system. The specific identity of nematode was determined by cutting perineal patterns of the female. On the basis of perineal pattern and other characters such as stylet length, head shape and larval length, the root-knot nematode was identified according to Eisenback (1985) asMeloidogyn  incognita wartellei Golden & Birchfield (1978). This is the first report of the occurrence of Meloidogyne incognita wartillei on pomegranate from Swat KPK (NWFP), Pakistan (Fig. 1)