A 7-year study located in Prince Edward Island, Canada, examined the influence of compost and manure on crop yield and nematode populations. The compost used in this study consisted of cull waste potatoes, sawdust, and beef manure in a 3:3:1 ratio, respectively. No plant-parasitic nematodes were detected in samples collected from windrow compost piles at 5- and 30-cm depths prior to application on field plots. Low population densities of bacterial-feeding nematodes were recovered from compost windrows at the 5-cm depth. Field plots of potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Kennebec) received compost applied at 16 metric tonnes per hectare, or beef manure applied at 12 metric tonnes per hectare. An adjacent trial with barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. Mic Mac) received only the compost treatment. In both trials the experimental design was a complete randomized block with four replicates. Data averaged over seven growing seasons indicated that population levels of root-lesion nematodes (primarily Pratylenchus penetrans) were higher in root-zone soil in potato plots treated with either compost or manure compared to the untreated control plots. The soil amendments did not affect root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne hapla) population densities in the potato plots, but clover-cyst nematodes (Heterodera trifolii) were more numerous in the root-zone soils of barley treated with compost compared to the untreated plots. Numbers of bacterial-feeding nematodes (primarily Diplogaster lheritieri) were greater in soil in potato plots treated with manure and in soil around barley roots than in untreated plots. Total yields of potato tubers averaged over seven growing seasons increased by 27% in the plots treated with either compost or manure. Grain yields of barley also were increased by 12% when compost was applied. These results indicated that organic amendments increased crop yields, but the impacts on different nematode species varied and usually increased soil population levels.

Eighteen cultivars and breeding lines of. red clover (Trifolium pratense) were evaluated in a greenhouse study for their relative response to inoculation by the root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus penetrans). The incidence of plants invaded and the nematode concentration in the roots were generally related but not always. One cultivar (Florex) had a low incidence of plants being invaded, but a high concentration of nematodes in the roots of invaded plants. Three entries (CRS 15, CRS 5, and CRS 11) displayed a low incidence of plants being invaded and a low concentration of nematodes in the root. One cultivar, AC Kingston, was judged to be highly susceptible, while the remaining entries had differing invasion incidences and differing concentrations of root-lesion nematodes in the roots.

Root-lesion nematodes (primarily Pratylenchus penetrans) were monitored in two marigold cultivars (Tagetes tenuifolia cv. Nemakill and cv. Nemanon), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum cv. Lemtal), red clover (Trifolium pratense cv. Florex), and soybean (Glycine max cv. Proteus), and in the following potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Superior) crop during three growth sequences. Meadow fescue (Festuca elatior cv. Miner) and bee plant (Phacelia tanacetifolia cv. Gipha) were added to the trial in the second year. Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, unidentified cv.) and two additional marigold cultivars (T. patula ssp. nana, unidentified cv., and T. erecta cv. Crackerjack) were included in the final sequence. Population levels of root-lesion nematodes were consistently lower under marigolds compared to the other cover crops tested. Correspondingly, average potato tuber yields were significantly higher (8-14%) when potato followed marigolds. The highest levels of root-lesion nematodes occurred under red clover and soybean, and the average potato tuber yields were lowest following these crops.

Greenhouse trials were conducted to determine the levels of invasion of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) cultivars and lines by the root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus penetrans). Numbers of nematodes in roots grown in 50-cm(3) polystyrene starter pots were determined 6 weeks after planting. Nematodes were detected in the roots of all cultivars and lines, though the degree of invasion varied significantly. In the first screening trial, carried out in 1994 on 23 cultivars and lines, NB90-104, Upstart, and Viking harbored the lowest population densities of nematodes with levels below 1 000 g(-1) of dry root, while Fergus and EPF had population densities over 30 000 g(-1) of dry root. In the second screening trial conducted in 1995, all nine cultivars and lines tested, including NB90-104, Upstart, and Viking, had nematode levels greater than 7 900 g(-1) of dry root. The results indicated that the cultivars and lines tested in this study exhibited wide genetic variability for invasion by root-lesion nematodes.

A field study assessing the influence of the previous crop, the crop sequence, and aldicarb treatments on root lesion nematode populations and crop yields was carried out in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The most recent crop had the greatest impact on nematode numbers. The crop sequences had an influence in some cases on root lesion nematode populations (primarily Pratylenchus penetrans) and on crop yields. In commercial barley (Hordeum vulgare) fields, root lesion nematodes in roots were greatest when barley followed a red clover (Trifolium pratense)-timothy (Phleum pratense) ley, and stunt nematodes (Tylenchorhynchus spp., primarily T. dubius, and Merlinius spp.) were more common when barley followed barley. The combined dry weight of foliage and grain was larger when barley was planted after potato (Solanum tuberosum) and smaller when barley followed barley or a red clover-timothy mixture. Under experimental field conditions, root lesion nematode populations were largest in barley roots when barley followed potato and grain yields were smallest when barley followed barley. Changes in nematode populations in potato were not associated with crop sequences. Potato tuber yields were higher in the sequences that began with wheat (Triticum aestivum) or barley than in the sequences that began with potato or soybean (Glycine max). Aldicarb reduced the numbers of root lesion nematodes in roots with concomitant yield increases in potato and soybean.