Most agronomic, fruit, and vegetable crops are hosts for the nematode, but in Kansas, damage is more commonly observed on irrigated corn, sorghum, and soybeans. Yield losses can be severe, approaching 100 percent in localized areas of infested Figure 1. Typical stunting of corn caused by the sting nematode. It is found almost exclusively in soils with a sand content of 80 percent or higher and thrives best in irrigated cropland where there is a constant supply of moisture. Sting nematodes do not enter plant roots'.
All life stages remain in the soil, feeding at or near root tips.
Symptoms Primary damage from the sting nematode is to the roots of the plant. The degree of injury to the roots varies with the age of the plant when attacked. Symptoms are most severe when the feeding occurs during the first few weeks after planting. In general, symptoms consist of greatly reduced root systems with short, stubby roots having dark, shrunken lesions, particularly at the tips. Plants which are not severely damaged by the initial feeding may recover and produce near-normal yields under optimum growing conditions.