PLANT AND SOIL NEMATODES: FRIEND AND FOE

Nematodes are microscopic worms, and huge numbers live in the soil. Some feed on roots and cause crop damage but most are beneficial, regulating numbers of other soil organisms and ensuring that nutrients are available to plants.

This educational website provides a science-based overview of one of the most important groups of organisms in soil.  It focuses on nematodes in the Australian environment and should interest a wide audience.

• Farmers with crops that are underperforming due to nematode damage

• Consultants who provide farmers with advice on disease problems

• Land managers who would like to improve the health of their soils

• Students with an interest in biology, agriculture, ecology, or the soil environment

• People who wish to gain a better understanding of the below-ground ecosystem

The Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) is providing fact sheets on nematodes in the hope that it will stimulate interest in a group of soil organisms that has largely been ignored by the tertiary education sector in Australia.

This website was established in March 2023 by Dr Graham Stirling. If you notice a mistake, would like to comment on a fact sheet, contribute a new fact sheet, or require help with any nematological issue, please contact him: graham.stirling@biolcrop.com.au