ITHACA, N.Y. - A new
nematode species that scientists
have never seen before its at
tacking grape plants in New York
State. This discovery is sparking a
flurry of research activities to find
countermeasures against this
potential threat.
Soil-dwelling and microscopic in
size, nematodes are destructive to
a wide range of agricultural and
ornamental crops throughout the
world. Some types of nematodes
even attack farm animals.
“Nematodes are so small that
five to ten can sit on a pinhead
comfortably,” says Martin B.
Harrison, a nematologist and
associate professor of plant
pathology in the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell.
Harrison and two visiting in
ternational scientists discovered
the nematode in 1981 and in some
of the research plots of Cornell’s
Vineyard Laboratory in Fredonia
(Erie County), New York. The
laboratory is administered by the
College’s New York State
Agricultural Experiment Station
at Geneva.
Sharing the discovery are
Kazuya Hirano of Chiba University
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Cornell finds new grape nematode
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Harrison working on nematode
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Based on a preliminary survey
of the State’s grape-growing areas,
conducted in 1983 by the New York
State Department of Agriculture
and Markets, Harrison reports
that the new nematode apparently
is confined to the Fredonia
research vineyard.
“We have no evidence that this
new nematode is widespread at the
moment,” he says. “More ex
tensive field surveys, however,
may be needed to size up the true
picture.”
Several types of nematodes are
known to attack grape plants in
New York. Overall, at least 100
nematode species are present
throughout the State, posing a
potential threat to virtually all
types of food and ornamental
crops.
The newly discovered nematode
belongs to a group called
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about this group. The first
nematode species belonging to this
genus was found in Russia in 1966;
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the same species was discovered
recently in Israel. It attacks mint
plants in both countries.
The second species belonging to
the same genus was found in a
weed species in Maryland in 1981.
More recently, scientists in South
Africa reported another species,
one that attacks sugarcane.
The nematode found in Fredonia
is the fourth species of this genus.
Worldwide, more than 2,000
species of plant-parasitic
nematodes have been documented
thus far.
This marks the first time
scientists in Cornell University
have reported on a new species of
nematode to the scientific world.
“Nematodes are one of the most
serious agricultural pests known,”
Harrison comments.
In the United States, nematodes
annually cost farmers $4 billion .in
crop losses. In addition, farmers
spend more than $6O million on
chemicals each year to combat the
pests on more than 1.7 million
acres of cropland throughout the
country.
Yet to be named, this new
nematode attacks mainly young
grape plants, stunting them
severely, according to Harrison.
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Its effect on grape yields is yet to
be determined," because it takes
several years before young plants
come into production.
One of the curious aspects of this
nematode is that, unlike other
types, the female deposits eggs
into her uterus, which develops
into an egg-holding structure.
When this structure is fully for
med, other parts of the female’s
body deteriorate and die.
In spring, eggs held in the uterus
hatch and young larvae crawl out
of the protective structure. Each
uterus can hold 100 to 200 eggs.
Unique to this genus of nematodes,
the egjg-holding uterus is known to
scientists as a “cystoid body.”
Females live and die within a
plant root, but males live in the soil
outside the root. While spending its
life in the soil, the male does not
seek any food; it simply subsists on
food reserves in its body.
“Unlike the female, the male
does not have any feeding ap
paratus,” Harrison points out.
More oddly, the male develops
into a mature nematode directly
from the juvenile stage of its
development.
Studies of this nematode have
shown that a number of grape
varieties are susceptible to the
wormlike creature. Among them
are Elvira, Dutchess, Delaware,
Rosette, Aurora, Cascade,
Chancellor, Cheloise, de Chaunac,
and Concord.
Although the new nematode now
poses little threat to New York’s
grape vines, the discovery is in
exciting event in the world of
science.
“It’s very exciting to find a new
nematode,” Harrison says. “It’s
not only a new species, but it
belongs to a group about which we
scientists know very little.”
Harrison is proposing “Vitis,”
the Latin word meaning grape, as
the official name of the new
species.
Meanwhile, Harrison and his
colleagues are stepping up studies
of the new nematode, in terms of
biology, host range, and biological,
cultural, and chemical control
measures, among other things.
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Central
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turer of Master Mix feeds, has set
aside over $20,000 for dairy product
promotion half way through the
company’s “Buck-A-Ton”
program. That amount is expected
to more than double by June 30.
Central Soya is donating $1 per
ton of dairy feed sold during May
and June to national and local
dairy associations, according to
David Longmire, Master Mix
dairy products marketing
manager. The fund will be equally
divided between the United Dairy
Industry Association and local
dairy groups for use m promoting
dairy product consumption.
“With the passing of the Milk
Diversion Program, it came
across loud and clear that anyone
involved with the dairy industry,
from farmers to farm suppliers,
needs to be involved in
promotion,” Longmire says. “We
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the effort to increase consumption
of dairy products.”
Central Soya is the first feed
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