Identification, Pathogenicity, and Reproduction of Meloidogyne arenaria on Banana (Musa spp.) in Korea

Banana (Musa spp.) cultivation has recently expanded in the Republic of Korea, increasing the need to identify plant-parasitic nematodes that may threaten its production. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and characterize a root-knot nematode population associated with severely galled banana roots from a commercial greenhouse in Pohang, Korea, and to evaluate its ability to infect and reproduce on two commercially available banana types. Female perineal patterns and second-stage juvenile (J2) morphology and morphometrics were consistent with Meloidogyne arenaria. Molecular analysis of individually examined females and juveniles consistently identified the population as M. arenaria, with no evidence of another Meloidogyne species among the individuals examined. A representative mitochondrial COX2–16S rRNA sequence showed 99.9% identity with a reference sequence of M. arenaria, and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis placed the Korean population within a lineage containing predominantly M. arenaria sequences. In contrast, analyses of the ITS and D2–D3 regions provided limited species-level resolution among closely related Meloidogyne species. Fifty days after inoculation with approximately 200 eggs derived from a single egg mass per plant, root galling, adult females, and egg masses were observed on both Monkey (Musa sp.) and Cavendish (Musa acuminata) bananas, and subsequent-generation juveniles were recovered from the soil. Mean soil J2 recovery was 531.3 ± 112.9 J2s/pot from Monkey banana and 269.3 ± 24.5 J2s/pot from Cavendish banana, with no significant difference between banana types (p = 0.141). These findings demonstrate that M. arenaria can infect, develop, and reproduce on the two commercially available banana types tested under controlled conditions and provide baseline information for the diagnosis and management of root-knot nematodes in Korean banana production.