Host suitability of wheat cultivars to Pratylenchus thornei Sher & Allen, 1953 and Pratylenchus neglectus (Rensch, 1924) (Tylenchida: Pratylenchidae)

Root lesion nematodes (RLNs), Pratylenchus thornei Sher & Allen, 1953 and Pratylenchus neglectus (Rensch, 1924) (Tylenchida: Pratylenchidae) are important plant-parasitic nematodes that cause economic yield losses in wheat cropping systems worldwide. The use of resistant and tolerant cultivars is the most effective method to control these nematodes in wheat. There are currently no commercial wheat cultivars identified as completely resistant to the RLN species. The aim of this research was to evaluate 19 Turkish spring wheat cultivars for reaction to P. thornei and P. neglectus under in-vitro conditions over 16 weeks in 2019. In the result of the study, nine wheat cultivars (Adana99, Ata89, Bürküt, Cumhuriyet75, Gönen98, Marmara86, Meta2002, Troya and Uludağ) were found to have moderate resistance against P. thornei, whereas five wheat cultivars (Adana99, Alibey, Ata89, Ceyhan99 and Uludağ) were moderately resistant to P. neglectus. The study also showed that Adana99, Ata89 and Uludağ are resistant to both nematode species, and these cultivars, thus, are considered to be excellent sources of genes for further development RLN resistant commercial wheat cultivars.