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. 2022 Apr 25;12(5):637.
doi: 10.3390/life12050637.

Occurrence and Geographic Distribution of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Citrus in Morocco and Their Interaction with Soil Patterns

Btissam Zoubi  1   2   3 , Fouad Mokrini  2 , Abdelfattah A Dababat  4 , Mohammed Amer  5 , Cherki Ghoulam  3 , Rachid Lahlali  6 , Salah-Eddine Laasli  7 , Khalid Khfif  8 , Mustafa Imren  9 , Oumaima Akachoud  3 , Abderrazak Benkebboura  3 , Abdelilah Iraqi Housseini  1 , Ahmed Qaddoury  3
Affiliations

Occurrence and Geographic Distribution of Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Citrus in Morocco and Their Interaction with Soil Patterns

Btissam Zoubi et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are found in citrus plantations throughout the world, but they are considered to be the most problematic pest in Morocco. Citrus fruit quality and yield have been adversely affected by PPNs. Due to data unavailability of nematodes associated with citrus, a detailed survey was conducted in the main citrus-growing regions of Morocco during 2020-2021 to assess the occurrence, distribution, and diversity of PPNs associated with rhizospheres of citrus trees. In addition, some soil properties have also been assessed for their impact on soil properties. Plant-parasitic nematode diversity was calculated using two ecological indexes, the Shannon diversity index (H') and the Evenness index (E). The collected soil and root samples were analyzed, and eleven genera and ten species of plant-parasitic nematodes were identified. The results show that the most predominant PPN species were Tylenchulus semipenetrans (88%), Helicotylenchus spp. (75%), Pratylenchus spp. (47%), Tylenchus spp. (51%), and Xiphinema spp. (31%). The results showed that PPN distributions were correlated with soil physicochemical properties such as soil texture, pH levels, and mineral content. Based on the obtained result, it was concluded that besides the direct effects of the host plant, physicochemical factors of the soil could greatly affect PPN communities in citrus growing orchards.

Keywords: Helicotylenchus spp.; Tylenchulus semipenetrans; citrus; diversity; nematodes; soil characteristics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the surveyed citrus-growing regions in Morocco.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Population densities of Tylenchulus semipenetrans (per soil sample) in the main citrus growing regions in Morocco. Lower case letters represent the homogeneous groups based on the protected least significant difference test at p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The phylogenetic tree of plant-parasitic nematode accessions detected in Moroccan citrus orchards based on the ITS region of 28S rDNA using the maximum likelihood method and Kimura 2-parameter model. The tree was generated via 1000 bootstrap replications.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Principal component analysis of the distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with citrus plants in all regions studied. (a) Souss-Massa region; (b) Marrackech- Safi region; (c) Gharb region; (d) Berkane region; (e) Beni Mellal-Khenifra.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Principal component analysis (bi-plot) of soil physicochemical characteristics interacting with plant-parasitic nematode taxa associated with citrus plants in all regions studied.
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References

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