Meloidogyne arenaria

Meloidogyne arenaria is a species of plant pathogenic nematode also known as the peanut root knot nematode, its genus name derived from Greek words meaning apple-shaped and female. It is one of the major Meloidogyne species for worldwide economic importance, and the predominant root knot nematode attacking peanut in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Texas in the United States, where the most damaging form, M. arenaria race 1, can cause losses exceeding 50 percent in severely infested fields. It is the most variable of the characterized Meloidogyne species both morphologically and cytologically: two races were identified in 1949, race 1 reproducing on peanut and race 2 unable to do so, and later work described a third race and showed race 2 populations reproducing on tomato plants carrying the Mi resistance gene, with race 3 reproducing on both resistant pepper and tomato.