Rearing and Conservation of Nematode Populations Under Greenhouse or Axenic Conditions

Once a nematode has been identified, to conduct studies for screening programs or pathogenicity tests, it is necessary a supply of large numbers of nematodes from field crops or reproduced and stored to be used in periods of the year when they are not available from fields. Therefore, nematodes must be reared in greenhouse or under in vitro conditions and stored for future needs. In this chapter, suggestions are given on how to obtain nematodes from fields and reproduce most of them on host plants in greenhouse (mainly Meloidogyne spp. and Globodera spp.) or in vitro. Reproductions in vitro include: Guidelines are also given to store different nematodes for rather long times, including in vitro methods and in infected seeds, hay, and other plant parts. No information is given on how to prepare and store fixed materials.