First report of Meloidogyne arenaria on calla (Zantedeschia aethiopica) in Serbia

Meloidogyne arenaria is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions and it prefers warm habitats. In temperate regions M. arenaria is usually present in glasshouses attacking a large number of host plants, including ornamentals [1]. In Serbia, M. arenaria has been identified in glasshouses on tomato, cucumber and pepper [2]. In October 2017, highly damaged calla plants (Zantedeschia aethiopica, originated from Kotor, Montenegro) with yellowing and wilting symptoms were observed in a glasshouse in Crepaja (Vojvodina province) in northern Serbia. Galls on roots were not observed but numerous females were extracted from washed thickened portions of roots under a stereomicroscope. Morphological characteristics of the female’s perineal patterns were analyzed on freshly isolated females and the sample was identified as M. arenaria. For species identification confirmation young egg-laying females were used for isozyme phenotyping by esterase (EST) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activity and revealed the isozyme phenotypes of N1 for MDH and A2 for EST, characteristic for M. arenaria [3]. Species identification was further confirmed by molecular analyses using group-specific primers in the rDNA region to determine tropical RKNs and species-specific SCAR primers for M. arenaria species identification [4]. This is the first report of M. arenaria on calla in Serbia. During 2018 and 2019, serious damage was observed on calla in nearby location of Crepaja (Sefkerin) in northern Serbia. Meloidogyne sampled from this glasshouse was identified as M. arenaria by morphological and molecular analyses as well. This finding has great importance for the growers who propagate calla by bulbs, so they can take appropriate management steps in order to prevent further pest spread.