Common name - needle nematode Historical First recognized as a problem in the Imperial Valley of California when growers initiated the practice of precision seeding of lettuce at discrete intervals to minimize need for thinning. Distribution Zimbabwe, Israel, South Africa, California. Feeds at root tips.
Males are rare and reproduction is probably by parthenogenesis.
First stage juvenile hatches from the egg. Adult to adult 7 to 9 weeks at 28 C. Egg to adult 4 weeks at 25 C. Can survive in fallow soil at least 3 months at 25 C. Symptoms-Pathogenicity Galls are formed at root tips. Devastating to seedling root systems. Management Preplant nematicides. Anterior esophagus narrow, cylindrical, posterior part a shorter but much wider, muscular, cylinder that abuts the intestine.