Presence of Longidoridae (Xiphinema and Longidorus) nematodes in grapevine, cultivated olive and wild olive in Crete

Abstract

The presence of the nematodes Xiphinema and Longidorus (Longidoridae) was studied in the rhizosphere of grapevine, cultivated olive and wild olive. Soil samples from grapevines were brought in the lab by farmers for investigation while samples from olives were collected in the framework of ARIMNET-PESTOLIVE project Morphological and morphometric studies combined with molecular techniques were applied for nematode identification. Five species of Longidorus and seven species Xiphinema were found in totaL Longidorus closelongatus, L moesicus, and L pseudoelongatus were found in grapevine and _olive with the two last species recorded for first time in Greece. L orientalis was found only in grapevine something that consists a new record for Greece and an unusual record for Europe. L cretensis, which was first described in Crete in 2001 and has never been reported elsewhere, was found in both crops. Xiphinema pachtaicum and X italiae which are widespread along the Mediterranean basin, were found in both crops. X simile, was found in grapevine and consists a new record for the country. X index, beside in grapevine where is quite common, was found ata low percentage (1 ,5%) in cultivated olive. Even though this nematode is not a virus vector in olive, it could be potentially damaging in grapevines adjacent to cultivated olives. X israeliae was found in cultivated and wild ol ives; its presence consists the second record worldwide, after the original identification of the species in IsraeL Furthermore, two new species were described for first time, X cretense n.sp in cultivated olive and X herak/iense n.sp in both wild and cultivated olive. All the nematodes mentioned above, were found in the rhizosphere of olive but it is not confirmed whether olives or/and weeds are their hosts. Except Xindex, no other species has ever been reported as a virus vector. The most important finding is the presence of X israeliae and the two new species X cretense and X herakliense; a study on their biology and their potential to be virus vectors consists a quite interesting resea rch area.