Xiphinema americanum as Affected by Soil Organic Matter and Porosity.

The effects of four soil types, soil porosity, particle size, and organic matter were tested on survival and migration of Xiphinema americanum. Survival and migration were significantly greater in silt loam than in clay loam and silty clay soils. Nematode numbers were significantly greater in softs planted with soybeans than in fallow softs. Nematode survival was greatest at the higher of two pore space levels in four softs. Migration of X. americanum through soft particle size fractions of 75-150, 150-250, 250-500, 500-700, and 700-1,000 mu was significantly greater in the middle three fractions, with the least occurring in the smallest fraction. Additions of muck to silt loam and loamy sand soils resulted in reductions in survival and migration of the nematode. The fulvic acid fraction of muck, extracted with sodium hydroxide, had a deleterious effect on nematode activity. I conclude that soils with small amounts of air-filled pore space, extremes in pore size, or high organic matter content are deleterious to the migration and survival of X. americanum, and that a naturally occurring toxin affecting this species may be present in native soft organic matter.

Correlations of nematodes and soil properties in soybean fields.

Soil samples from 40 soybean fields were collected in 1967 and 1968 and analyzed for nematodes and soil properties. Correlations o f total nematodes, non-stylet nematodes, Dorylaimoidea (excluding Xiphinema americanum), X. americanum, Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus, Tylenchus spp., Aphelenchus avenae, and other groupings of nematodes were made with pH; percentage sand, silt, and clay; percentage organic matter; cation exchange capacity; saturation percentage, and percentage saturation. Organic matter, pH, and cation exchange capacity were most consistently highly correlated with the nematodes. H. pseudorobustus had the most consistently significant correlations with the soil factors. Correlations of nematodes were with more soil factors and were stronger in a wet than in a dry year. The highest numbers of nematodes were usually found in the lighter soils, except in the loamy sand where moisture probably was limiting. In general, soil moisture levels below 20% saturation were probably limiting for most nematodes studied, except for the dorylaims which survived in large numbers in soils with less than 20% saturation.