Morphological and morphometric variation studies within and among populations of Helicotylenchus sp. From banana rhizosphere of Nilambur and Kalikavu blocks, Malappuram dt., Kerala

Abstract

Thirty populations of Helicotylenchus sp. from banana rhizosphere of fourteen Panchayaths of Nilambur and Kalikavu blocks of Malappuram District, Kerala were subjected for morphological and morphometric characterization and they were compared within and among different populations for their similarities and differences. The total population comprises10 juveniles, 7 males and 13 females. Among these thirteen females majority were identified as Helicotylenchus multicinctus (10 out of 13) and less were H. dihystera using their morphological and morphometric characters. Both in morphological and morphometric data, the helicotylenchus from various panchayaths and from the same panchayth show both similarities and differences. The study is a first report of H. multicinctus and H. dihystera from these block panchayaths of Malappuram district. The present findings were compared with other workers and subjected for an analysis.