ABSTRACT
Plant-parasitic nematodes are important pests of sugarcane. A survey of nematologists from more than 70 countries (Sasser and Freckman, 1987) indicated that crop losses due to nematodes were higher in sugarcane (annual average losses of 15.3%) than in any other crop except banana, coconut and a few vegetable crops. Sugarcane also has more pest nematodes than most other cultivated crops, with Cadet and Spaull (2005) indicating that 310 species in 48 genera had been recorded from the roots and/or rhizosphere of sugarcane.
