Pratylenchus loosi from pasture grasses in central Florida

Amphimictic populations of lesion nematodes with two lip annuli were detected from pasture grasses, Paspalum notatum and Panicum hemitomon, in central Florida. When cultured on carrot disks, these Pratylenchus species differed (P = 0.05) from P. coffeae cultures with respect to posterior uterine sac length (28 and 34.5 μm vs 53.5 μm), vulva % (77.5 and 77.4 vs 79.7), b (5.4 and 6.01 vs 6.4) and c (17 and 17.3 vs 21.3) ratios and shape of tail (narrowly rounded vs bluntly rounded, truncate or indented). Morphometric differences between these lesion nematode populations and P. coffeae tended to be greater when collected directly from their original hosts (grasses and citrus) than from carrot cultures. Morphological characters of Pratylenchus species from grasses were similar to those of P. loosi. The lesion nematodes from grasses, however, had females with more anterior vulva (76-79) than P. loosi paratypes (79-85) from Sri Lanka.