Reaction of Wild and Domesticated Triticum and Aegilops Species To Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne)

Twenty-nine accessions of wild wheats and commercial cultivars of Triticum monococcum var. boeoticum, T. urartu, T. timopheevii var. araraticum, T. turgidum var. dicoccoides, durum wheat T. turgidum var. durum, and bread wheat T. aestivum, were hosts for Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica, and M. naasi, assessed by egg production in glasshouse and field tests. No sources of resistance to Meloidogyne were found in Triticum. Four host races of M. incognita reproduced on durum and bread wheat cultivars. One accession of Aegilops squarrosa from Afghanistan was resistant to four host races of M. incognita and four isolates of M. javanica, but not to M. naasi. Twelve other A. squarrosa accessions from Afghanistan and Iran and related Aegilops spp. were hosts for all Meloidogyne spp. The potential for development of Meloidogyne-resistant wheat cultivars is discussed.