A study of the effects of Ditylenchus dipsaci on three onion cultivars with different skin colour in Nigeria

Abstract

Three onion cultivars with different skin colour were exposed to larvae of bulb and stem nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci, in the field and also inoculated with the nematode larvae in the greenhouse. Penetration and bloating of seedlings occurred most in the white onion cultivar (El Toro); less in the yellow cultivar (Yellow Bermuda) and least in the red cultivar (Red Kano). The basis of onion resistance to penetration and bloating is thought to be biochemical in nature.