Nematodes of Small Grain Cereals: Current Status and Research
Proceedings of the Fifth International Cereal Nematode Initiative Workshop. 12-15 September 2015, Ankara, Turkey. The Fifth International Cereal Nematodes Initiative Workshop will be held in Ankara, Turkey during 13-15 September 2015, is an update to the 1st International Cereal Cyst Nematodes Initiative Workshop held in 2009 in Antalya, Turkey. The 5th International Cereal Nematodes Initiative Workshop involved more than 70 scientists from wheat and barley producing regions in 20 countries throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, North Africa and North America. Cereal nematodes are microscopic parasites that invade roots of wheat, barley, oats and other small grain cereals. The most important of these plant-parasitic nematodes occur in the genera Heterodera (cyst nematodes) and Pratylenchus (root-lesion nematodes). Forty three papers in this volume cover: the history and status of cereal nematodes globally and regionally; research on morphological, genetic and ecological diversity; development and deployment of host resistance including development and applications of molecular technologies; and investigations into other strategies for reducing the magnitude of economic damage caused by cereal nematodes. Special emphasis is given to opportunities to develop and deploy integrations of sustainable management practices. The papers provide valuable insights into the impacts of cereal nematodes and endeavors to provide sustainable management options for farmers. The impact of cereal nematodes in reducing crop yields and the efficiency of cropping systems ranges from severe in resource-limited cropping systems to minor in cropping systems where it is possible to integrate a broader range of rotation crops and resource-intensive inputs. Unacceptable levels of economic loss continue to occur in many countries. International collaboration such as occurred in this workshop is required to ensure that appropriate genetic resources and technologies are developed, communicated and deployed.
