Occurrence of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne arenaria in the potato field in Serbia

Root-knot nematodes can cause significant losses in potato yield in warm and cool regions. Six Meloidogyne species can attack potato. Species Meloidogyne chitwoodi, M. fallax, M. hapla, are present in cool regions, while M. arenaria, M. incognita and M. javanica are common in warm regions and considered to belong to the Meloidogyne tropical group. Meloidogyne arenaria is present in regions with continental climate in glasshouses attacking a large number of host-plants. In October 2018, potato crop var. Balathon Rose with galls on 70% of all tubers was noticed during quarantine nematode species Meloidogyne chitwoodi and M. fallax survey in the locality Horgoš, municipality of Kanjiža, Vojvodina Province. Symptoms of stunted and wilted plants were detected as well. Females were used for morphological and molecular identification. Morphological identification of species based on females' perineal patterns indicated the sample as M. arenaria. Species identification was confirmed by molecular analyses using group-specific primers in the rDNA region and species-specific SCAR primers for M. arenaria species identification. To our knowledge, this is the first record of highly damaged potato crop caused by M. arenaria in the field in Serbia. The severity of the damage M. arenaria can cause to potato in the open field has not been observed in the part of Balkan peninsula with continental climate before. This tropical Meloidogyne species may become an emerging phytosanitary problem within Europe in the future due global warming and climate change.