Nematode Parasites of Okra in Ghana

Okra is susceptible to plant-parasitic nematodes especially Meloidogyne spp. Nematodes associated with okra were assessed in Ghana between August and December 2014. Two hundred and forty okra farmers were interviewed to determine their awareness of the nematode infection menace in okra. One hundred and two (85%) and 66 (55%) of the farmers did not know that nematodes infect okra in the Moist Semi-deciduous Forest and Forest Savanna Transition agro-ecologies respectively. Seventy-two and 52% of okra farms assessed showed symptoms of Meloidogyne infection in the Moist Semi-deciduous Forest and Forest Savanna Transition agro-ecologies respectively. Fifty-four okra farms were surveyed for plant-parasitic nematodes. Six nematode genera - Meloidogyne Pratylenchus Xiphinema Helicotylenchus Rotylenchulus and Scutellonema were found. All the genera belong to the Order Tylenchida except Xiphinema the Order Dorylaimida. Meloidogyne was the most abundant (64.90% relative abundance) and had a 100% frequency. Xiphinema the least abundant (0.05%) occurred only in the Ejura Sekyedumase district.