First report of Meloidogyne incognita infecting Cannabis sativa in Alabama

Bisho R Lawaju; William Groover; Jessica Kelton; Kassie Conner; Edward Sikora; Kathy S Lawrence

doi:10.21307/jofnem-2021-052

First report of Meloidogyne incognita infecting Cannabis sativa in Alabama

J Nematol. 2021 May 1:53:e2021-52. doi: 10.21307/jofnem-2021-052. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Bisho R Lawaju¹, William Groover², Jessica Kelton³, Kassie Conner¹, Edward Sikora¹, Kathy S Lawrence¹

Affiliations

¹ Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, Auburn University, 559 Devall Dr., Auburn, AL 36849.
² BASF Corporation, 131 Sapphire Circle, Guyton, GA 31312.
³ Wiregrass Research Center, Headland, AL 36345.

Abstract

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a new crop in Alabama. In 2019, symptomatic plants with stunted growth, poor root development, and numerous galls were observed in hemp plants grown in Geneva County, AL. After harvest, soil samples were collected from areas with the symptomatic plants and root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) were found in the soil. Based on morphological features and the polymerase chain reactions using species-specific primers, it was identified as Meloidogyne incognita. Further, a host differential test in a greenhouse assay confirmed it to be M. incognita race 3. The pathogenicity of the nematode to the hemp was confirmed by a modified version of Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. incognita infecting Cannabis sativa in Alabama.

Keywords: Alabama; Cannabis sativa; Meloidogyne incognita; hemp; identification; root-knot nematode.