© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Abstracts - 16th Hellenic Phytopathological Congress
53
O
RAL
& P
OSTER
P
RESENTATIONS
Nematodes as soil health bioindicators in an experimental sunflower field
E. K
ARANASTASI
1
, V. T
RIANTAFYLLIDIS
2
, L. E
CONOMOU
3
, N. M
ANTZOS
4
, G. M
ANOS
5
and I.
K
ONSTANTINOU
4
1
TEI of Messolongi, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Department of Greenhouse
Crops and Floriculture, GR-302 00 Messolongi, Greece.
2
University of Western Greece,
Department of Business Administration of Food and Agricultural Enterprises, GR-301
00 Agrinio, Greece.
3
Benaki Phytopathological Institute, Department of Pesticides
Control & Phytopharmacy, Laboratory of Biological Control of Pesticides, 8 St.
Delta Str., GR-145 61 Kifissia, Greece.
4
University of Western Greece, Department of
Environmental and Natural Resources Management, GR-301 00 Agrinio, Greece.
5
TEI
of Epirus, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Department of Crop Production, GR-
471 00 Arta, Greece
A 1000m
2
experimental sunflower field, lo-
cated in Kostakioi, Arta, was divided into 16
plots 40m
2
each, 8 of which had a 5% incli-
nation and 8 of 1%. The soil was tilled, the
pilot blocks delineated, the water collection
system constructed and sunflower seeds
were seeded in 8 of the plots, 4 with 5% in-
clination and 4 with 1%, in grooves 4-5cm
deep, at 70cm distance between the lines
and 20cm on the track. The remaining 8
plots were left uncultivated. There were two
applications of herbicides, one of oxyflu-
orfen against broadleaf weeds, and one of
quizalofop-p-ethyl against grasses. The her-
bicides were applied in 8 plots, 4 with sun-
flower and 4 without cultivation, and in each
case, 2 with 5% inclination and 2 with 1%.
No herbicides were applied in the other 8
plots, 4 cultivated, 2 with 5% and 2 with 1%
inclination, respectively, and 4 uncultivat-
ed, 2 with 5% inclination and 2 with 1%. Soil
sampling was performed at 0-10cm depth.
Nematodes were isolated, the total popula-
tion per cm3 estimated, species identified
based on food preference and / or at fami-
ly or genus level, where possible, and statis-
tical analysis of data using the program STA-
TISTICA v. 7.0. The experimental field was
installed following the principles of a split-
split-plot experimental design and statisti-
cally significant interaction was observed
for each sample (p<0.05).
Distinction of live/dead eggs of potato cyst nematodes using propidium
monoazide (PMA)
M. C
HRISTOFOROU
, I.S. P
ANTELIDES
, L. K
ANETIS
, D. T
SALTAS
and N. I
OANNOU
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus
University of Technology, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus
Potato cyst nematodes (PCN),
Globode-
ra pallida
and
G. rostochiensis
cause severe
losses in potato crop. Crop losses are relat-
ed to nematode population densities in soil,
which are therefore used to support deci-
sion making for the management of PCN.
The standard method to determine the via-
bility of PCN is the microscopic visualization
of nematodes stained with Meldola’s Blue
dye. Meldola’s Blue assay, however, is time
and labour consuming and frequently leads
to overestimation of viable PCN inocula.
Furthermore, molecular assays such as Real-
Time PCR cannot directly assess the viability
of PCN inocula, since DNA of both live and
dead cells can be amplified, thus quantify-
ing the total amount of DNA. Recent studies
report the use of a DNA-intercalating dye,
Propidium Monoazide (PMA), in combina-
tion with Real-Time PCR assays for the dis-
