Characterisation of plant-parasitic nematodes Helicotylenchus digonicus and H. vulgaris from the rhizosphere of grapevines in Crimea, Russia

During 2016-2020, about 120 soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of grapes in different vineyards of the Central and Southern regions of Crimea. Two morphologically close nematode species, Helicotylenchus digonicus and Helicotylenchus vulgaris, were found at all sampling sites in the Yalta, Sevastopol, Simferopol and Bakhchisarai districts. Morphologically, these species could be differentiated by the stylet length and the shape of tails. In addition, these species have significant differences in sequences of the D2-D3 expansion segments of the 28S rRNA.