View: Full Text Article
Aishwarya Sharma1,2* and Nisha Rana2
1Department of Life Sciences, Keral Verma Subharti College of Science, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
2Research and Development Cell, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University,
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Email: nisharana.zoology@gmail.com
Received-16.08.2026, Revised-09.09.2026, Accepted-20.09.2026
Abstract: The nematode community is an essential part of the soil ecosystem, playing several trophic roles and taking part in plant health, decay processes, nutrient recycling and biocontrol. Nevertheless, there is no data concerning diversity and host specificity of nematodes occurring in the perennial fruit orchards of the Terai belt of Uttarakhand. In the present paper, the diversity, abundance, host specificity and taxonomic composition of nematodes occurring in mango (Mangifera indica L.) and guava (Psidium guajava L.) orchards of Kashipur, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India have been studied. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected from various locations, and nematodes were extracted by adequate techniques. Characterisation of representative nematodes was done by morphological and morphometric traits, such as body length, width, stylet, oesophagus, reproductive system, tail structure, etc. Special attention was paid to the analysis of plant-parasitic nematodes, especially root-knot nematodes, along with free-living and entomopathogenic nematodes. To ensure accurate species determination, representative nematode specimens were characterised at the molecular level by the analysis of ribosomal and mitochondrial gene loci (ITS, D2-D3 domain of 28S rRNA, 18S rRNA, COI). The present study presents an overall view of nematode communities in relation to two economically important fruits and provides the baseline information on nematode diversity, host preference and molecular affinities in the region of Kashipur. The results of the study will be helpful in the identification of important plant parasitic nematodes and also serve as the basis for future studies related to nematode ecology and management.
Keywords: Fruit orchards, Guava, Mango, Morphometrics, Phytonematodes
REFERENCES
Anes, K. M., Babu, M. and Josephrajkumar, A. (2023). Root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii Yang and Eisenback, 1983 infecting guava intercropped with coconut plantation in Kerala, India. Indian Journal of Nematology, 53(1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-4444.2023.00003.3
Baermann G. Eine einfache (1917). Methods zur Auffindung von Anklostomum (Nematoden) Larven in Erdproben [A simple method for the detection of Ankylostomum (nematode) larvae in soil tests] Geneeskundig Tijdschrift voor NederlandschIndie Batavia. 57:131–137.
Bhat, A. H., Chaubey, A. K., Shokoohi, E. and Machado, R. A. R. (2021). Molecular and phenotypic characterization of Heterorhabditis indica (Nematoda: Rhabditida) nematodes isolated during a survey of agricultural soils in western Uttar Pradesh, India. Acta Parasitologica, 66(1), 236–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-020-00279-y.
Bhat, A. H., Machado, R. A. R., Abolafia, J., Askary, T. H., Půža, V., Ruiz-Cuenca, A. N., Rana, A., Sayed, S. and Al-Shuraym, L. A. (2023). Multigene sequence-based and phenotypic characterization reveals the occurrence of a novel entomopathogenic nematode species, Steinernemaanantnagense n. sp. Journal of Nematology, 55(1), 20230029. https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2023-0029.
Bhat, A. H., Machado, R. A. R., Abolafia, J., Ruiz-Cuenca, A.N., Askary, T.H., Ameen, F. and Dass, W. M. (2023). Taxonomic and molecular characterization of a new entomopathogenic nematode species, Heterorhabditiscasmirica n. sp., and whole genome sequencing of its associated bacterial symbiont. Parasites & Vectors, 16, 383. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05990-z.
Chandana, R., Manjula, C. P., Kavitha, T. R., Prasanna Kumar, M. K., Chethan, D., Rawat, S., Nayak, R., Prajwal, B., Kumar, S. and Nagaraju, N. (2026). Plant-parasitic nematode community dynamics in guava orchards: The combined role of Meloidogyne enterolobii and Helicotylenchus dihystera. Applied Soil Ecology, 226, 107302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2026.107302
Cobb, N. (1918) – Estimating the nematode population of the soil. Agric. Tech. Circ. U.S. Dept. Agriculture, 48 p
Google Scholar
Ghule, T.M., Phani, V., Somvanshi, V. S., Patil, M., Bhattacharyya, S. and Khan, M.R. (2020). Further observations on Meloidogyne enterolobii (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae) infecting guava (Psidium guajava) in India. Journal of Nematology, 53. doi: 10.21307/jofnem-2020-120.
Kumar, H. K., Sangeetha, B. G., Tadigiri, S., Jayaprakas, C. A. and Makeshkumar, T. (2024). New record of Steinernemasiamkayai (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) from Kerala, India. Indian Journal of Nematology, 54(2), 128–133. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-4444.2024.00025.7.
Lakshman, S. S., Ashokkumar, N., Rageshwari, S., Gopu, B. and Dharani, S. (2026). Deciphering the identity of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne enterolobii infecting guava (Psidium guajava L.) through morphological and molecular tools. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, 60(3), 416–422. https://doi.org/10.18805/IJARe.A-6492
Lalramnghaki, H. C., Vanlalhlimpuia, Lalramliana and Yadav, A. K. (2018). Morphological and molecular characterization of entomopathogenic nematode, Heterorhabditis baujardi (Rhabditida, Heterorhabditidae) from Mizoram, northeastern India. Journal of Parasitic Diseases, 42, 341–349.
Seinhorst J.W. (1959). A rapid method for the transfer of nematodes from fixative to anhydrous glycerin. Nematologica, 4(1):67–69.
Singh, A. K., Patil, J., Nekkanti, A., Paschapur, A. U., Bhat, S., Gouri, V., Verma, G., Jaiman, M., Pankaj, Mishra, K. K. and Kant, L. (2025). Isolation, morphological, and molecular characterization of a native Heterorhabditis indica strain from the Mid-Indian Himalayas with insights into biocontrol potential. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16,1576159. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1576159.
Soni, S., Patil, J., Linga, V., Mhatre, P. H., Gowda, M. T., Ganguli, J. and Puza, V. (2023). Steinernemashori n. sp., a new entomopathogenic nematode (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) from India. Journal of Helminthology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X23000536.
Subbotin, S. A., Sturhan, D., Chizhov, V. N., Vovlas, N. and Baldwin, J. G. (2006). Phylogenetic analysis of Tylenchida Thorne, 1949 as inferred from D2 and D3 expansion fragments of the 28S rRNA gene sequences. Nematology, 8, 455–474.
Vrain, T. C., Wakarchuk, D. A., Levesque, A. C. and Hamilton, R. I. (1992). Intraspecific rDNA restriction fragment length polymorphism in the Xiphinema americanum group. Fundamental and Applied Nematology, 15, 563–573.