First report of Heterodera hordecalis, a cereal cyst nematode, on wheat in Algeria

The cyst nematodes (Heterodera spp.) are a major group of plant-parasitic nematodes that attack many crop species and cause serious yield losses in major food crops (Jones et al. 2015). Nematodes in the genus Heterodera occur in all major cereal production areas in the Mediterranean Basin (Dababat et al. 2015). In June 2016, six soil samples were collected from durum wheat (Triticum durum) fields of Guellal (36°2'7" N; 5°20'12" E), Hammam Sokhna (35°58’60" N; 5°48’0" E), Ain Arnat (36°10’60" N; 5°19’0" E), Seriana (35°41’37'' N; 6°11’12'' E), Sebaine (33°39’0'' N; 0°12’0'' E), and Maghnia (34°51’42" N; 1°43’50" W), located in the Algerian provinces of Setif, Batna, Tiaret, and Tlemcen. The surveyed wheat fields had stunted patches, poor plant growth, chlorotic lower leaves, and few or no tillers. Cysts were extracted from the soil using a Fenwick Can technique (Fenwick 1940) and identified. Morphologically, cysts were rounded, deep yellow to brown, with a thick subcrystalline layer, small vulval cone, bifenestrate, two almost circular semifenestrates separated from each other by a rather wide vulval bridge, vulval slit obviously covered by a flap, and bullae present at the underbridge level. Cysts also displayed a strong underbridge with pronounced thickening in the middle and bifurcation at both ends.