Identification and characterization of Meloidogyne mayaguensis of coffee crop in Cuba. | Identificación y caracterización de Meloidogyne mayaguensis en el cultivo del cafeto en Cuba.

Coffee is one of the most important branches in Cuban economy, and in this crop, the root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) provoke yield losses and diminish the live-time of the plantations. In the western region, a population in which morphology has a relationship with Meloidogyne mayaguensis was detected in 1981. This virulent and distinctive nematode group in other crops in the world were also detected. Due to intraspecific morphological variations in this species, it was necessary to arrive to a definitive diagnosis of Cuban Meloidogyne population and the lack of knowlegment about it in our country. The objectives of our work were the following: to elucidate the identity and characterization of population, to determine its abundance in the root-knot nematode complex associated to coffee crop in different zones of our country, to make a characterization of injury in coffee when this population constitutes the majority in the root-knot nematode complex, to evaluate the host capacity of different plants and to improve the Integrated Nematode Management in coffee. Impatiens balsamina was the best plant for a bioassay and for establishing the pure populations. As a conclusion we can say that in the base of the results of morphological studies, the chromosome number, protein and esterase profiles, PCR-RFLP study and physiological study in the Cuban population belong to Meloidogyne mayaguensis with intraspecific variations in the morphology and protein profiles. The species was found only in coffee from Santiago de Cuba and Granma provinces as the majority part of complex populations of root-knot nematodes in which the symptoms are similar to produce other species in coffee. In this crop, the specie Coffea canephora was tolerant to Meloidogyne mayaguensis from Cuba. In our conditions, this species of root-knot nematode was poliphagous and virulent, because plants belong to more than 8 botanic families and one tomato variety with Mi gen was its host.