Golden Nematode

(Click on an image below to see the captioned full-size version)
Figure 1		Figure 2		Figure 3		Figure 4		Figure 5		Figure 6

Scientific Name: Globodera rostochiensis
Common Name: golden nematode, golden potato cyst nematode, yellow potato cyst nematode

Known Hosts:
Potatoes (Solanum spp.), tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum), eggplant (S. melogena), and some solanaceous weeds (e.g. nightshade).

Symptoms:
	Patches of poor growth with yellowing or wilting of foliage. (Figure 1)
	Small tubers (Figure 2).
	With a heavy infestation the cysts are visible on the roots with the naked eye. (Figure 3)
	Cysts are the hardened body of the female nematode swollen with eggs. They are spherical in shape and attached to the root by a stalk (the head and neck of the female) (Figure 4).
	Cysts start out white then turn a golden yellow color and finally turn brown. (Figure 5)

Similar diseases or symptoms:
	Mild infestation could be mistaken for water stress or mineral deficiency. Laboratory analysis is needed to determine if nematodes are present.
	The pale cyst nematode (Globodera pallida) is very similar to the golden nematode except it does not pass through the golden yellow phase as the cyst darkens. (Figure 6)

Fact sheets and references:
Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Golden Nematode Web Page
http://ceris.purdue.edu/napis/pests/gn/index.html
http://ceris.purdue.edu/napis/pests/gn/facts.txt

USDA/APHIS Golden Nematode Web Page
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/nematode/index.shtml

EPPO Data Sheets on Quarantine Pests
http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/nematodes/Globodera_pallida/HETDSP_ds.pdf

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries: Government of British Columbia
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/goldennema.htm

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/surv/data/glorose.shtml

Brodie, B.B. 1996. Golden Nematode: A Success Story for Biological Control.
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/bcconf/talks/brodie.html

Rich, A.E. 1983. Potato diseases. Academic Press, New York, New York.

Hooker, W.J., ed. 1981. Potato Cyst nematodes, pp. 94-96 in Compendium of potato Diseases. American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.

last reviewed February 25, 2008