DISTRIBUTION, HOST STATUS AND POTENTIAL SOURCES OF RESISTANCE TO VITTATIDERA ZEAPHILA.

Vittatidera zeaphila was described from stunted Zea mays (corn) roots collected in northwestern Tennessee (Obion County) in 2006. Similar cyst specimens had previously been collected in 1978 from Lauderdale County, TN, on Eleusine indica (goosegrass). Comparison of the 1978 specimens deposited in the USDA Nematology Collection at Beltsville, MD, and the 2006 specimens verified that they were identical. The purpose of this research was to determine the distribution of this nematode, determine the host range and determine if there was resistance which could be incorporated into commercial corn hybrids in the event the nematode was a threat to Midwest corn production. This nematode is known only from the 1978 site in Lauderdale County, TN and the two findings in Obion County, Tennessee and a field in Hickman County, Kentucky from this study. Zea mays and E. indica were the only plants supporting increase of this nematode and were good hosts, with Rf values of 6 or more. Nonhosts included common dicotyledous plants that are known hosts of cyst nematodes, a range of native grasses, and teosinte. Preliminary data on potential sources of resistance to V. zeaphila suggest that resistance is not a dominant trait and that there is a potential role of the cytoplasm in conferring resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]