Godelieve Gheysen

Summary Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana ) is a staple crop for subsistence farmers and is primarily cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions. Nevertheless, there are limited data available on the occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes that specifically target finger millet, and the damage arising from such infections. In this study, we investigated the population dynamics, damage threshold and tolerance of the lesion nematode, Pratylenchus n. sp., and the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne javanica , on finger millet ‘P-224’. We used 11 initial population densities ( P i ) of second-stage juveniles (J2): 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 J2 (g soil) −1 for M. javanica and the same densities of mixed life-stages for Pratylenchus n. sp. The logistic growth model, Seinhorst yield loss and population dynamic models were fitted to the shoot height, plant biomass and final nematode population density. Based on the population dynamics model parameters, maximum multiplication rates and maximum population densities for each nematode species were estimated. The maximum multiplication rates ( a ) were 32.39 and 17.46, whilst the maximum population densities ( M ) were 18.83 nematodes (g soil) −1 and 19.78 J2 (g soil) −1 for Pratylenchus n. sp. and M. javanica respectively. The maximum height reached ( C ) was negatively affected by increasing P i for both nematode genera, while the rate of growth ( B ) and the time to reach was not affected based on the logistic model. A tolerance limit ( T ) of 1.70 nematodes (g soil) −1 and 0.65 J2 (g soil) −1 ; relative minimum grain yield ( m ) of 0.23 and 0.40 for Pratylenchus n. sp. and M. javanica was found, respectively. The results indicate that ‘P-224’ is a good host for both Pratylenchus n. sp. and M. javanica , which significantly reduce yield. These findings can be used as a base to develop effective nematode management strategies for finger millet.