Survey of Pulse Crop Field for Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in the Canadian Prairies

			Crop			Canada Thistle			Total
Province		Fields	Pods	Stems/Leaves	Soil	Flowers	Stems/Leaves	Soil	Total
Saskatchewan	Pea	31	31	31	31	25	31	31	180
Saskatchewan	Lentil	13	13	13	13	0	0	0	39
Saskatchewan	Chickpea	3	2	3	3	0	0	0	8
Alberta	Pea	33	25	32	33	17	27	28	162
Alberta	Chickpea	7	7	7	7	5	6	3	35
Manitoba	Pea	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	42
Total		94	85	93	94	54	71	69	466

Pulse growing areas in the Canadian Prairie provinces (gray shading) and locations of commercial fields sampled in 2014 and 2015 (n = 94).

Table 2:

Primers used for PCR reactions and sequencing in this study.

Primer Name	Specificity	Product length (bp)^*	Target gene or fragment	Primer Sequence 5′-3′	Reference
AB28-TW81	Universal	700–1100	ITS 1&2	ATA TGC TTA AGT TCA GCG GGT GGT TCC GTA GGT GAA CCT GC	Howlett et al. (1992) and Joyce et al. (1994)
D2A-D3B	Universal	800–1000	(D2–D3) 28S	ACA AGT ACC GTG AGG GAA AGT T TCG GAA GGA ACC AGC TAC TA	De Ley et al. (2005)
ITSF-ITSR	Universal	500–700	ITS 1	TTG ATT ACG TCC CTG CCC TTT ACG AGC CGA GTG ATC CAC CG	Vrain et al. (1992) and Cherry (1997)
18SF-18SR	Universal	900	18S	TTG GAT AAC TG TGG TTT AAC TAG ATT TCA CCT CTC ACG CAA CA	Qiao et al. (2016)
U831-Dipsaci_hsp90R	D. dipsaci	190	hsp90	AAY AAR ACM AAG CCN TYT GGA C GWG TTA WAT AAC TTG GTC RGC	Madani et al. (2015)
U831-Weischeri_hsp90R	D. weischeri	200	hsp 90	AAY AAR ACM AAG CCN TYT GGA C AGC ACT AAA ATT AAG YGT AAA GG	Madani et al. (2015)
PNEG-D3B	P. neglectus	290	(D3) 26S rDNA	ATG AAA GTG AAC ATG TCC TC TCG GAA GGA ACC AGC TAC TA	Al-Banna et al. (2004)
PPEN-D3B	P. penetrans	278	(D3) 26S rDNA	TAA AGA ATC CGC AAG GAT AC TCG GAA GGA ACC AGC TAC TA	Al-Banna et al. (2004)
PSCR-D3B	P. scribneri	286	(D3) 26S rDNA	AAA GTG AAC GTT TCC ATT TC TCG GAA GGA ACC AGC TAC TA	Al-Banna et al. (2004)
PTHO-D3B	P. thornei	288	(D3) 26S rDNA	GAA AGT GAA GGT ATC CCT CG TCG GAA GGA ACC AGC TAC TA	Al-Banna et al. (2004)
1770–1772	A. besseyi	325	SSU rDNA	GCG GGA TTC GTG GTT C*T CGA CAT GCC GAA ACA TGA G	Rybarczyk-Mydłowska et al. (2012)
1496–1499	A. ritzemabosi	347	SSU rDNA	CGC TGG TGG GTT TCG A CCC GCT AAG AAA TGA TCA C*C	Rybarczyk-Mydłowska et al. (2012)
AFragF1-AFragR1	A. fragariae	169	ITS1	GCA AGT GCT ATG CGA TCT TCT GCC ACA TCG GGT CAT TAT TT	McCuiston et al. (2007)

Table 3:

Proportion of fields and samples (above ground plant tissue and soil for crops and thistles) positive for taxa of plant-parasitic nematodes, and chi-square tests for comparison of crop to thistle samples, in commercial fields in the Canadian Prairies.

Above-Ground Crop	Above-Ground Thistle	χ²	p-value	Soil Under Crop	Soil Under Thistle	χ²	p-value
		*proportion*				*proportion*
Anguina	0.03	0.02	–^a	–	–	–	–	–	–
Aphelenchoides	0.76	0.24	0.14	4.68	0.03^*	0.46	0.48	0.07	0.79
Aphelenchidae	0.54	0.12	0.05	4.43	0.03^*	0.35	0.20	4.25	0.03^*
Ditylenchus	0.52	0.07	0.22	15.71	<.0001^*	0.19	0.22	0.17	0.68
Helicotylenchus	0.21	–	–	–	–	0.16	0.19	0.23	0.63
Hoplolaimus	0.02	–	–	–	–	–	0.01	–	–
Longidorus	0.01	–	–	–	–	–	0.01	–	–
Merliniinae	0.01	–	–	–	–	0.01	–	–	–
Paratrichodorus	0.01	0.01	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Paratylenchus	0.49	–	–	–	–	0.38	0.36	0.07	0.79
Pratylenchus	0.20	–	–	–	–	0.16	0.12	0.63	0.43
Subanguina	0.05	0.02	0.03	–	–	–	–	–	–
Telotylenchinae	0.64	0.01	–	–	–	0.47	0.50	0.43	0.62
Xiphinema	0.06	–	–	–	–	0.03	0.04	–	–
Number Examined	94	178	125			94	69

a – = absence of nematode population of that taxon.

{ label (or @symbol) needed for fn[@id='j_jofnem-2025-0040_tfn_002'] } Asterisk (^*) means a significant difference in the proportion of positive samples within above-ground samples or within soil samples for crops and thistles (p < 0.05).

Table 4:

Mean population densities for plant samples (nematodes per gram) and soil (nematodes per 100 g dry soil mass) positive for taxa of plant-parasitic nematodes from commercial pea fields in the Canadian Prairies sampled in 2014 and 2015.

Mean	Max^a	Mean	Max	Mean	Max	Mean	Max	Mean	Max	Mean	Max
Anguina	<1	n/a^b	1	n/a	–^c	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Aphelenchoides	<1	1	5	25	<1	<1–1	<1	10	32	159	28	97
Aphelenchidae	<1	n/a	2	12	–	–	1	3	22	79	31	91
Ditylenchus	1	2	4	14	55	<1–300	27	37	28	91	82	332
Helicotylenchus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	115	506	110	328
Hoplolaimus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	n/a
Longidorus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7	n/a
Merliniinae	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	n/a	–	–
Paratrichodorus	–	–	8	n/a	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Paratylenchus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	131	1024	66	420
Pratylenchus	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	106	630	87	176
Subanguina	<1	n/a	6	11	–	–	1	1	8	n/a	–	–
Telotylenchinae	–	–	1	n/a	–	–	–	–	74	659	106	980
Xiphinema	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	18	10	15

a Max = highest population density observed in a sample.

b n/a = not provided because nematode genera was found in a single sample.

c – = absence of nematode population of that taxon.

Table 5:

Mean population densities for plant samples (nematodes per gram) and soil (nematodes per 100 g dry soil mass) positive for taxa of plant-parasitic nematodes from commercial lentil fields in the Canadian Prairies sampled in 2014 and 2015.

	Pods		Stems/Leaves		Soil Under Crop
	Mean	Max^a	Mean	Max	Mean	Max
Anguina	-^b	-	<1	n/a^c	-	-
Aphelenchoides	<1	1	<1	n/a	43	169
Aphelenchidae	<1	1	<1	1	18	41
Ditylenchus	<1	n/a	-	-	16	40
Paratylenchus	-	-	-	-	355	901
Pratylenchus	-	-	-	-	7	n/a
Telotylenchinae	-	-	-	-	23	84

a Max = highest population density observed in a sample.

b – = absence of nematode population of that taxon.

c n/a = not provided because nematode genera was found in a single sample.

Table 6:

Mean population densities for plant samples (nematodes per g) and soil (nematodes per 100 g dry soil mass) positive for taxa of plant-parasitic nematodes from commercial chickpea fields in the Canadian Prairies sampled in 2014 and 2015.

Taxa	Above-Ground Crop		Above-Ground Thistle
	Stems/Leaves		Flowers		Stems/Leaves		Soil Under Crop		Soil Under Thistle
	Mean	Max^a	Mean	Max	Mean	Max	Mean	Max	Mean	Max
Aphelenchoides	-^b	-	<1	n/a	<1	n/a	36	108	35	n/a
Aphelenchidae	<1	n/a^c	-	-	-	-	18	25	5	n/a
Ditylenchus	-	-	-	-	125	n/a	8	16	-	-
Helicotylenchus	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	n/a	-	-
Hoplolaimus	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	n/a	-	-
Paratylenchus	-	-	-	-	-	-	35	72	-	-
Pratylenchus	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	27	90	127
Telotylenchinae	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	23	-	-

a Max = highest population density observed in a sample.

b – = absence of nematode population of that taxon.

c n/a = not provided because nematode genera was found in a single sample.

Table 7:

Species identity by species-specific PCR, RFLP and sequencing of the ITS, 18S and D2-D3 regions of the 28S rDNA gene of Ditylenchus individuals recovered from soil and plant sample types.

Province	Crop	Sample Type	Field ID	No of individual nematodes analyzed	Species-specific PCR Identity	RFLP Identity	Identity	Accession	Query Cover %	Size (bp)	Identity %	Gene (Primer)
Manitoba	Pea	Pea pods	7	7	D. dipsaci	D. dipsaci	D. dipsaci	MG384731	100	368	98.00	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle flowers	8	1	D. weischeri	a	D. weischeri	MG386859	100	676	99.41	ITS (AB28-TW81)
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle flowers	16	8	D. weischeri	D. weischeri	D. weischeri	MG386878	100	457	99.34	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle flowers	20	1			D. weischeri	MG386851	100	471	98.73	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	20	1			D. weischeri	MG386873	100	555	100	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Manitoba	Pea	Pea pods	23	1	D. weischeri
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle flowers	24	8	D. weischeri	D. weischeri	D. weischeri	MG386859	98–100	676–695	99.70–99.86	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle flowers	25	3	D. weischeri
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	25	1	D. weischeri
Manitoba	Pea	Thistle flowers	28	16	D. weischeri	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Pea pods	31	1	D. weischeri	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Pea stems and leaves	31	1		D. weischeri
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle flowers	39	1	D. weischeri
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	39	3	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	40	1	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle soil	41	1	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	44	1			D. weischeri	MG386859	99	700	99.57	ITS (TW81-AB28)
Alberta	Pea	Pea soil	57	1	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle soil	57	3	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle flowers	59	5	D. weischeri		D. weischeri	MG386825	100	680	97.79	ITS (AB28-TW81)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle soil	70	5	D. weischeri		D. weischeri	MG386878	98	504	100	ITS (ITSF-ITSR)
Alberta	Chickpea	Thistle stems and leaves	76	8	D. weischeri		D. weischeri	MG386825 MG386869	99–100	642–679	98.8–99.00	ITS (AB28-TW81)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	148	2	D. weischeri
Alberta	Pea	Thistle soil	165	3	D. weischeri
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	186	5	D. weischeri		D. weischeri	MG551907	99	694	99.85	28S (D2A-D3B)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle stems and leaves	190	1	D. weischeri

a blank cells indicate no analysis conducted.

Table 8:

Species characterization by species-specific PCR and sequencing of the ITS, 18S and D2-3 regions of the 28S rDNA gene of Pratylenchus individuals recovered from soil samples.

Province	Crop	Sample Type	Field ID	No of individual nematodes analyzed	Species-specific PCR Identity	Identity	Accession	Query Cover %	Size (bp)	Identity %	Primer
Alberta	Pea	Pea soil	98	1	^a	P. neglectus	KY424172	100	547	99.82	18S (18SF-18SR)
Alberta	Pea	Pea soil	131	1		P. neglectus	JQ303332	100	865	99.65	18S (18SF-18SR)
Alberta	Pea	Thistle soil	50	7	P. neglectus	P. neglectus	MT261132	100	758	99.08	28S (D2A-D3B)
Alberta	Chickpea	Chickpea soil	69	1	P. neglectus
Alberta	Chickpea	Thistle soil	90	3	P. neglectus
Saskatchewan	Pea	Pea soil	185	185-1	unknown	P. neglectus	JQ303332	99	823	99.76	18S (18SF-18SR)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Pea soil	185	185-4	P. neglectus
Saskatchewan	Pea	Pea soil	185	185-5	P. neglectus
Saskatchewan	Pea	Pea soil	185	185-6	P. neglectus
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle soil	184	184-2	unknown	P. neglectus	KM200579	100	667	99.40	28S (D2A-D3B)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle soil	184	184-5	P. neglectus
Saskatchewan	Pea	Thistle soil	192	192-1	P. neglectus

a blank cells indicate no analysis conducted.

Table 9:

Sequencing of the ITS, 18S and the D2–D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene of Paratylenchus individuals recovered from soil samples.

Province	Crop	Sample Type	Field ID	No of individual nematodes analyzed	Identity	Accession	Query Cover %	Size (bp)	Identity %	Primer
Alberta	Pea	Pea soil	33	1	P. projectus	MW413605	97	567	99.8	ITS (ITSF-ITSR)
Saskatchewan	Pea	Pea soil	62	2	P. projectus	MW413656	99–100	646–708	99.69–100	28S (D2A-D3B)
Saskatchewan	Lentil	Lentil soil	120	1	P. projectus	MW413605	99	579	99.65	ITS (ITSF-ITSR)
Saskatchewan	Lentil	Lentil soil	130	1	P. projectus	KJ636434	100	852	99.77	18S (18SF-18SR)
Saskatchewan	Lentil	Lentil soil	130	1	P. projectus	MW413605	97	584	97.36	ITS (ITSF-ITSR)

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2025-0040 | Journal eISSN: 2640-396X | Journal ISSN: 0022-300X

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Language: English

Submitted on: Aug 6, 2024

Published on: Dec 31, 2025

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© 2025 F. Gouvea-Pereira, M. Tenuta, D. Risula, M. W. Harding, published by Society of Nematologists, Inc.
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Volume 57 (2025): Issue 1 (February 2025)

Survey of Pulse Crop Field for Plant-Parasitic Nematodes in the Canadian Prairies

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