COMMUNITY ANALYSIS OF NEMATODES ASSOCIATED WITH SAPOTA (MANILKARA ZAPOTA)Pranaya Pradhan, Rudra Pratap Subudhi and Niranjan Kumar SahooAbstract Sapota is a major fruit crop of India widely cultivated in tropical climatic regions of India. Nematodes pose a severe threat to sapota-growing areas throughout the country. Khordha district is one of the major Sapota cultivation hotspots situated in Odisha, India. A survey was conducted in Khordha to assess the economic risk imparted by nematodes. Around 120 requisite soil samples were collected from sapota growing areas of the Khordha district. Among different parasitic nematodes of plants, Tylenchorhyn chusmashoodi was the highest occurrence (80), along with the absolute frequency (66.67). Moreover, Hoplolaimus indicus was found the most prominent species with a higher prominence value (40.40), followed by Tylenchorhyn chusmashoodi (16.98), while the lowest prominence value (1.79) was recorded in Aphelenchu savenae. Among the freeliving nematodes, Dorylaimid exhibited the highest frequency of occurrence (120), with absolute frequency (100%), followed by Mononchid and Rhabditid (93.33% and 46.67%, respectively). Dorylamide showed the highest prominence value (54), followed by Mononchid (34.22) and Rhabditid (16.10). Thus, due to the minimal existence of harmful nematodes in the soil sample, the Khordha district can be recommended for cultivation of sapota successfully. |