Survey of Parasitic Nematodes Associated with Cotton in Burkina Faso

Aims: An inventory of parasitic nematodes associated with Cotton is carried out during the 2017-2018 wet season in the major production areas in Burkina Faso.

Study Design: Indeed, the cotton plant is attacked by a large number of pests, including plant parasitic nematodes, which is observed at high population levels in the country's main cotton-growing areas.

Place and Duration of Study: The study is conducted in Burkina Faso, for the Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research, Farako-Bâ station, for few months.

Methodology: 94 samples of roots and adjoining soils are taken and nematodes are extracted from 250 cubic centimeters (cc) of soil using the Seinhorst elutriator method. The nematodes present in the roots are extracted by the Seinhorst sprinkler method. Population densities are expressed in terms of Number of nematodes/dm3 of soil and Number of nematodes/g of roots.

Results: About ten (10) genera of plant-parasitic nematodes are identified and represented by Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Scutellonema, Tylenchorhynchus, Telotylenchus, Rotylenchulus, Xiphinema, Criconemella and Paratrichodorus. Under the conditions of Burkina Faso, five (5) nematodes are considered as being able to cause yield losses on cotton, namely Helicotylenchus, Scutellonema, Tylenchorhynchus, Pratylenchus and Telotylenchus because they are frequent and abundant with frequencies between 100% and 36% for densities varying between 7,328 and 1,360 nematodes/dm3 of soil.

Conclusion: On the other hand, the nematodes Meloidogyne and Rotylenchulus as major pests of Cotton throughout the world have been observed at low frequencies but at often high levels of population abundance, Research perspectives focus on the characterization of the main parasitic nematodes of cotton and the development of control methods oriented towards resistance varieties and cultural practices which suggests that their development requires particular soil and soil moisture conditions.