Garden Tip: (Something to think about as you wind down your garden this year.) Nematodes are microscopic soil-borne worms that feed on root tissues, often resulting in abnormal growth, commonly galls. Nematodes most often come in with infected plants and their soil. Nematodes are most prevalent in sandy or sandy loam garden soils, and a few of the plants that are most frequently hit include tomatoes, okra, boxwood, figs, ajuga and violets. However, the list of plants that may suffer from them is much, much longer. Afflicted plants will be stunted and lethargic and may gradually weaken and die. Mind you, most of my diagnostic work is done on phone calls (radio) and in print (my columns), so I don’t get to see actual samples. I’m suspecting there may be lots more nematode damage out there than goes reported. However, to take away a bit of your angst, they have not been frequent topics through my career, and I’ve had them only once in my own garden. How their damage shows up… Using boxwood as an example, a given plant may die, then the boxwood plants on either side of the first one will die, and so on in both directions down the row. With a groundcover bed of ajuga, one small patch will die, then the affected area will spread out like a ripple on a pond. If you are concerned that your garden soil may be infested, send a sample to the Texas Plant Clinic at Texas A&M. There is a $35 fee for their analysis, and you will find all of the sampling instructions and information forms at this web page: plantclinic.tamu.edu/forms/d827/ Here is the fact sheet from the TAMU nematode and plant disease clinic. It gives more information about their damage, along with suggestions for coping with them. There is no nematicide available for consumer use in home gardens, so pay close attention to the alternate practices that will limit their populations. plantdiseasehandbook.tamu.edu/problems-treatments/problems-affecting-multiple-crops/root-knot-nematodes/
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 16:02:24 +0000
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