Sugarbeet Cyst Nematode Not Detected in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota

Abstract

A survey was conducted in 2001 to determine if sugarbeet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii Schmidt) and soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines Ichinohe) were present in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. A total of 303 soil samples were collected from 101 locations in nine Minnesota counties and six North Dakota counties. Samples were processed for cyst nematode eggs and secondstage juveniles. No sugarbeet cyst nematode or soybean cyst nematode was detected in samples. A species of Cactodera, however, was found in a sample collected in Clay County, MN. The nematode completed its life cycle in sugarbeet, but reproduction was poor. Attempts to determine its host range and to increase populations for further identification and description were unsuccessful. Since the populations did not increase on sugarbeet, the Cactodera population probably has no or little pathogenicity to sugarbeet.