Loss of Vigor and Yield
Plant-parasitic nematodes vary in their feeding habits; each species causes a slightly different type of damage to the root. These differences are important because they affect the physiology and growth of the plant in different ways. One basic feature of nematode attack, however, is that nutrients and metabolic activities are diverted from normal, healthy growth and fruit production into sustaining the nematode population and repairing the wounds they cause. This is a chronic problem that continues throughout the growing season. All plants tolerate minor attacks by pathogens without a significant impact on vigor, but nematodes become a problem when the population level surpasses the damage threshold; at this point damage is measurable. Because of different feeding habits, reproductive potential, and other factors, the damage threshold is different for different species of nematode. The threshold for damage also will vary according to other variables such as plant age, size, nutritional status, moisture stress, and other disease problems.
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