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Cobb County Extension Service

Fact Sheet on Foliar Nematodes

By Nina Eckberg
County Extension Agent

email: uge1067@arches.uga.edu


Yellow-brown blotches	Fan-shaped blotches

IDENTIFICATION: Foliar Nematode (Aphelenchoides sp.)

APPEARANCE: Microscopic worms that live in plant stems and leaves. The nematode lives and feeds inside the leaf tissue.

HOSTS: Hostas, chrysanthemums, begonias

SEASON: Leaf/foliar nematodes are most damaging in regions where summers are warm and wet.

DAMAGE: fan-shaped, yellow-brown to gray leaf blotches that progress down and outward in the plant from upper leaves. The nematodes can move on a thin film of water, but their movement is limited by major leaf veins. The resulting symptom is a V-shaped, damaged area bordered by leaf veins.

IPM: Several steps can help control foliar nematodes:

buy clean plant material- most foliar nematodes are brought into the garden. Do not buy plants with leaf blotches.
careful watering- do not water plants overhead with sprinklers, use watering wands or soaker hoses.
sanitation- remove and destroy heavily infested plants. Pick off and destroy all infested leaves and the 2 leaves directly above them.

COMMENT(S): Nematodes can live for years in plant debris or the soil without the benefit of moisture.

If you think you have foliar nematode damage, bring it to the Extension office for diagnosis.

Sources:

Horst, R. Kenneth and Paul E. Nelson (editors) 1997. Compendium of Chrysanthemum Diseases. Pages 40-41. APS Press, St. Paul MN.

Smith, Cheryl (editor) 1993. The Ortho® Home Gardener's Problem Solver. Pages 96, 99. The Solaris Group, San Ramon CA.

Eckberg, Nina 2000. Pictures of foliar nematode damage on hosta. Cobb County Extension Service, Marietta GA

The University of Georgia and Ft. Valley State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and counties of the state cooperating. The Cooperative Extension Service offers educational programs, assistance and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability.

Last updated 09/00