Nematology Section

Overview

The Bureau of Entomology, Nematology & Plant Pathology consists of scientists, laboratory technicians and other support personnel who identify and process samples sent in by inspectors and Florida citizens. The risk of introducing exotic pests and diseases has steadily increased during the last decade because of international travel and the commercial movement of exotic pests. To ensure correct identification of samples, the bureau maintains a library of more than 13,000 books and periodicals, and the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, a collection of more than 10 million specimens. We have a phytoparasitic nematode collection, a herbarium with over 15,900 plants and 1,400 vials of seeds, a plant pathology collection, a biological control laboratory, a fruit fly identification laboratory and an advanced diagnostics laboratory.

Are your plants not growing correctly? Learn how to Submit a Sample for Identification.

Helpful Nematology Links

• Nematology Circulars
• DPI Pest Alerts
• Sanitation Practices for Nurseries [ 249.7 kB ]   English poster Metodos sanitarios para viveros [ 278.9 kB ]   Spanish poster  
• Phytoparasitic Nematodes reported from FL [ 1.6 MB ]

Summary of the Nematology Section's Programs and Activities: Current activities of this section are analyses of soil and plant samples for nematodes, identification of plant parasitic nematodes involved in regulatory and certification programs, pest detection surveys, and diagnosis of plant problems. State of Florida Statutes and regulatory rules applicable to nematode pests mandate the principal part of the regulatory activity of the section. Nematological analyses include those from in-state programs, out-of-state and out-of-country plant shipments originating in Florida, and samples intercepted in Florida from outside the United States. Other functions focus on surveys to detect exotic nematode pests, describing new nematode species, maintenance of taxonomic data retrieval systems, nursery sanitation programs, host testing and biological control investigations.

Benefits from the Nematology Section's Programs: The Nematology Section was established in the mid-1950s because the burrowing nematode began causing serious decline of citrus in Central Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with citrus growers, launched regulatory programs to prevent the spread of this serious nematode pest of citrus. A very conservative estimate is that these regulatory programs prevented the spread of the burrowing nematode into 44,000 acres or 18,000 hectares. The benefits of these burrowing nematode regulatory programs for Florida's citrus growers from 1960 to 1994 is calculated to be $1.4 billion. The regulatory management costs were only about 7 percent of the benefits to the growers, or for every $70,000 invested in the programs there was a return of $1 million.

Citrus nursery certification programs ensure that seedlings produced in citrus nurseries are free of burrowing nematodes and other nematode pests. For the past 35 years these programs have been very effective in preventing the spread of nematode pests into Florida's citrus groves. Because citrus is a perennial crop that may be productive for 25 to 40 years, growers benefit for many years from planting certified seedlings. For the 2000 crop season alone, the benefit to growers from excluding nematodes from their groves through planting certified nematode-free seedlings was calculated to be $50 million in on-tree value of fruit. Total annual costs to the Plant Inspection and Nematology section for nematode certification programs for citrus nurseries was $75,000 in 2000. Thus, in 2000 for every dollar invested in the administration of the nematode certification program in Florida, there was a return of approximately $666 to growers.

Florida's ornamental industry also greatly benefits from the activities of the Nematology Section. Nematode certification programs for ornamental plants allow the ornamental industry of Florida to export plants to markets located in other states and countries which impose restrictions against nematode pests occurring in Florida. Without these certification programs many export markets would be closed to Florida's billion-dollar ornamental industry.