PARALONGIDORUS AUSTRALIS

IDENTITY: Scientific name: Paralongodorus australis
Stirling & McCulloch, 1984
Common name: A needle nematode

NOTE ON TAXONOMY AND BIOLOGY: Females of this needle nematode are 7.6-10.6 mm long. The lip region is not offset from the body contour and amphids are stirrup-shaped. The odontostylet and odontophore are 146-170 and 101-124 µm long respectively, with a guide ring located 58-70 µm from the anterior end of the body. The tail is broadly rounded. Males are common. This needle nematode has ectoparasitic habits and feeds on root tips causing tip curling and necrosis. There is no evidence that this nematode is able to transmit viruses.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Paralongidorus australis has been reported only in Australia (CAB International, 2001).

HOSTS: The only known host is rice (Oryza sativa).

CROP LOSSES: The damage induced by this nematode on rice is serious and results in poor growth and yield suppression up to 50% (Stirling and McCulloch, 1984; Lehman and Stirling, 1988).

MEANS OF MOVEMENT AND DISPERSAL: Parlongidorus australis is dispersed with infested soil, and by infected bare rooted plants or contaminated machinery.

RATING: (VL) Taking into consideration the limited distribution of this nematode and the low chance of its introduction into the US, the risk that it poses to the United States is rated very low.

REFERENCES:
    CAB International, 2001. Paralongidorus australis in: Crop protection compendium, global module, 3rd edition. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.
    Lehman, P. S., and G. R. Stirling. 1988. Paralongidorus australis, a needle nematode that may cause severe damage to rice. Nematology Circular No. 152, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Gainesville, FL, USA.
    Stirling, G.R., and J. S. McCulloch. 1984. Paralongidorus australis n. sp. (Nematoda: Longidoridae), causing poor growth of rice in Australia. Nematologica 30:387-394.