Bioassay to Forecast Cereal Cyst Nematode Damage to Wheat in Fields

Several simple agronomic practices such as crop rotation, timing of sowing, no-till management, and resistant cultivars can reduce damage by the cereal cyst nematode (CCN), (Heterodera avenae), but the damage levels are unpredictable. The objective of the present study was to develop a fast assay that would forecast the potential damage to wheat by CCN in the fields. Our forecast procedure was based on the SIRONEM bioassay with several modifications in the sampling and incubation of field soil samples and cultivation in them of wheat seedlings. For CCN disease assessment, a damage model that takes account of CCN infection and its damage to roots was developed. Field experiments were established to validate the resulting damage model, and showed a correlation between the forecast damage and field rating of CCN infection. This assay has advantages over other CCN estimation methods because it directly forecasts the potential crop damage in the field and it requires a relatively short period to obtain the data. According to the forecast damage and weather conditions, the most appropriate crop management regime, especially of sowing, can be chosen for each field assayed.