Incidence and Population Density of Nematodes in Corn Fields in Tekirdağ, Türkiye

This study was conducted to determine the nematode biodiversity in corn (Zea mays L.) growing areas in Tekirdağ, Türkiye. For this purpose, corn fields in Malkara, Şarköy, Süleymanpaşa, and Hayrabolu were surveyed, and a total of 62 soil samples were collected from a soil depth of 0-60 cm. Nematodes were isolated by centrifugal flotation using 475 g/L sugar solution. Nematode identifications were made using polytomous keys. In the study, 30 nematode genera were identified, and among these genera, 11 were plant parasites, three were fungal feeders, nine were bacterial feeders, five were omnivores, and two were predators. Some of the plant parasitic species identified in the study included Ditylenchus dipsaci, Helicotylenchus digonicus, H. varicaudatus, Pratylenchus penetrans, P. thornei, P. neglectus, Paratylenchus nainianus, Rotylenchus cypriensis, and Tylenchorhynchus annulatus. Among all Aphelenchus (Aphelenchida: Aphelenchidae), Cephalobus (Rhabditida: Cephalobidae), Filenchus (Tylenchida: Tylenchidae), and Geocenamus (Tylenchida: Merliniidae) were the most abundant and common genera and the heat map generated with XLSTAT represents the nematode abundance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most recent taxonomic study on nematode diversity in corn fields in Tekirdağ province.