Abstract
The study aimed at the morphological and morphometrical characterisation of eight populations of Meloidogyne graminicola from India. We studied different life stages, female, second-stage juveniles (J2s) and eggs of each M. graminicola population. Female characters such as stylet length, distance from the head-end to the median bulb, length and width of metacorpus valve were considered as stable characters. The distance between anus to vulval slit, and phasmid to the anus in perineal pattern showed the least variations. Similarly in body length, stylet length, and the ratio of c-value in J2s showed the least variations. This study noted two types of J2s; the short-form in Assam, Karnataka, Odisha, and West Bengal and the long-form in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. They could be easily identified; the short form J2s is 410-480 µm and the long-form is 510-580 µm.
Acknowledgements
Authors thank Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, West Bengal (India) helps for extending infrastructural facilities for carrying out this study.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.