The Stem Eelworm, Tylenchus dipsaci (Kühn, 1858): Observations on its attacks on Potatoes and Mangolds with a Host-list of plants parasitized by it.

Abstract

The nematode has been known as a serious parasite of potatoes for a number of years. The disease produced by it was first described in Germany by Kühn (1888) under the name of Wurmfäule. Shortly after this Ritzema Bos (1892) confirmed and amplified Kühn's account and carried out an experimental investigation on the disease. The present writer Goodey (1923) gave a short résumé of this earlier work and an account of the occurrence of the disease on potatoes in the Holbeach area of Lincolnshire. Buckhurst (1925) also reported the results of certain successful pot experiments in which potatoes were infected by growing in soil containing diseased tuber material. Finally, an important paper by Quanjer (1927) has appeared in which he deals with the occurrence of the disease on potatoes at Wageningen, Holland, and shows that the physiological race of worms attacking potatoes there occurs naturally on certain wild plants in the pastures and is capable of attacking a wide range of host plants both cultivated and wild. He also discusses the mode of entry of the parasite into the host and the nature of its action on the plant tissues.