Nematode victims range from trees and shrubs to vegetables to flowers. Although the worms may kill annuals, the bigger threat to sturdier plants is damage that allows entry to bacteria and fungi.
What do nematodes eat?
THE LIVING SOIL: NEMATODES Some feed on the plants and algae (first trophic level); others are grazers that feed on bacteria and fungi (second trophic level); and some feed on other nematodes (higher trophic levels). Free-living nematodes can be divided into four broad groups based on their diet.
What plants attract nematodes?
Other common garden vegetables grown during mid- to late summer, such as tomato, pepper, cucumber, squash, eggplant, and okra also are highly susceptible to root-knot nematode. Plants growing in nematode-infested soils usually are unthrifty, stunted, yellowish, and have galled and decayed roots.
What do nematodes eat in the garden?
Most of the nematodes in the garden are beneficial to soil and plants. They feed on the organisms that can harm crops, such as bacteria, fungi, and other microscopic organisms.
What plants are affected by nematodes?
Leaf, or foliar, nematodes (Aphelenchoides species) and bulb and stem nematodes (Ditylenchus dipsaci) cause severe losses in vegetable and ornamental bulb crops, clovers, alfalfa, strawberry, sweet potato, orchids, chrysanthemums, begonias, and ferns.
