Effect of the rice white tip nematode Aphelenchoides besseyi on growth and reproductive traits of 12 commercial strawberry cultivars under greenhouse conditions

The rice white tip nematode Aphelenchoides besseyi is the causal agent of summer dwarf disease of the strawberry plant, which causes significant crop damage worldwide each year. Considering the environmental hazards of chemical pesticides, identification of resistance sources in different strawberry cultivars and their application could be one of the effective strategies to control this nematode. To this end, a population of A. besseyi was collected from a strawberry field in Kurdistan province and identified based on the morphological characteristics and sequence of D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA. Then, the responses of 12 commercial and common strawberry cultivars in the province were studied under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that the effects of nematode infestation on most plant growth and reproduction traits and on the final nematode population in the cultivars were significant at the 1% level. Based on the nematode reproduction factor, 12 cultivars were divided into four groups: The cultivar Missionary with a nematode reproduction factor of 9.04, was recognized as a suitable host for A. besseyi and had the greatest impact on growth and reproductive traits compared to the other cultivars. The cultivars Yalova and Chandler with nematode reproduction factors of 6.73 and 7.20, were classified as relatively suitable hosts, while the cultivars Kurdistan, Aromas and Aliso with nematode reproduction factors of 4.27-4.76 were classified as relatively poor hosts. These cultivars were less affected than Missionary in terms of growth and reproductive characteristics. Krasnayy berg, Selva, Queen Elisa, Camarosa, Mrak and Paros cultivars with nematode reproduction...