Diversity and occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in maize, cotton, soybean and peanut, with morphological and molecular characterisation of root-lesion nematodes

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Summary Plant-parasitic nematodes significantly reduce crop productivity, representing a major challenge to agricultural sustainability. This study aimed to identify plant-parasitic nematodes in major crop production areas, including maize, cotton, soybean and peanut fields, in the Çukurova Basin, Türkiye. For this purpose, a total of 339 soil samples were collected during surveys conducted across Adana, Mersin, Osmaniye, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş provinces in 2025. Nematodes were extracted and identified to the genus level using morphological criteria, while species-level identification was specifically targeted for Pratylenchus populations using an integrated approach combining morphological and morphometric analyses with molecular techniques. The diversity of plant-parasitic nematodes in maize, peanut, cotton and soybean fields was assessed using the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and species evenness was calculated to evaluate community structure. The results revealed that Aphelenchus , Filenchus and Ditylenchus were among the most frequently detected genera across the surveyed fields. Pratylenchus spp. showed particularly high prevalence in maize and soybean fields. Within this genus, Pratylenchus thornei , P. fallax , P. penetrans and P. pratensis were identified in the Çukurova Basin, with P. thornei emerging as the dominant species. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index and species evenness for nematode communities in maize, peanut, cotton and soybean fields indicated relatively low community diversity with dominance by a limited number of taxa. This study provides one of the most comprehensive assessments of communities of plant-parasitic nematodes in major agricultural ecosystems of the Çukurova Basin, Türkiye and highlights the importance of accurate identification of root-lesion nematodes for the development of region-specific and sustainable nematode control strategies.

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