Four criconematid species from avocado orchards in Florida, USA

Summary Four criconematid populations were uncovered in three avocado orchards in Homestead region, Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA, with three of them in relatively high densities. Two of the populations were identified as Criconema mutabile (Taylor, 1936) Raski & Luc, 1985 and Mesocriconema basili (Jairajpuri, 1964) Loof & De Grisse, 1989, whereas the other two populations were identified as Criconemoides sp. and Ogma sp. The identification of the nematodes was based on morphological analysis and C. mutabile was also confirmed based on the 28S rRNA gene. The molecular data of M. basili (18S and 28S rRNA genes) are presented for the first time and phylogenetic trees based on the genes are provided illustrating the relationships of M. basili with other criconematid species. This study further reports the presence of C. mutabile and M. basili for the first time in Florida, USA, and the association of the latter species with avocado rhizosphere.