JOURNAL OF PLANT DISEASES AND PROTECTION, vol.127, no.2, pp.165-171, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
Garlic plant, which has an important place in the world economy as well as in human nutrition, is grown extensively in Turkey. The stem and bulb nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci (Kuhn) is one of the most important biotic stresses and is under quarantine as it significantly interrupts garlic production wherever it emerges. Thus, being up to date regarding the distribution and population of the stem and bulb nematode, which is locally found in garlic cultivation areas, identification of the races found on the garlic plant at the molecular level and knowing the host spectrum of the races found at the region are of great importance. The objective of this study is to perform species diagnosis using the species-specific molecular markers at ITS-rDNA regions of the stem and bulb nematode isolates collected from the garlic cultivation areas in Turkey in 2016 and 2017. In the study, molecular screening data of the nematodes isolated from the plant and soil samples were analyzed phylogenetically. In this study, upon molecular screening using 9 different species-specific SSR and SCAR primers, it was found that 34 nematode samples of 53 are D. dipsaci. Nematode samples were from the garlic fields in Kastamonu, Amasya, Aksaray, Tekirdag, Tokat, Balikesir, Bursa, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Adiyaman, and Kirklareli provinces. Identification of stem and bulb nematodes found in the areas of garlic cultivation with this study will be useful for conscious and efficient control applications to this nematode.