Effects of seed-gall nematode, Anguina tritici, on bread wheat grain characteristics and yields in Turkey

Abstract

The effects of Anguina tritici on wheat yields and agronomic components were investigated at Thrace Agricultural Research Institute, Turkey, during the 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. Evaluations during 2013 focused on the wheat cv. Pehlivan, which is widely cultivated in Turkey. In this cultivar, A. tritici led to a grain infection in infected spikes of 0-100%, with an average of 61.8%. In 2014, yield losses caused by A. tritici were investigated in four wheat cvs, Pehlivan, Selimiye, Gelibolu and Kate-A. Results indicated that there were significant yield losses averaging 55% in plots infested with A. tritici (average yields = 3.74 t ha(-1)), as compared to control plots (average yields = 8.38 t ha(-1)). Yield losses in the four wheat cvs Kate-A, Pehlivan, Selimiye and Gelibolu were estimated as 51.3, 53.2, 56.6 and 59.6%, respectively, with seed infection levels by A. tritici of 21.4, 20.9, 24.4 and 18.3%, respectively.