Several species of nematodes are known to cause losses to cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) throughout the world. In Brazil, Aphelenchoides besseyi was recently described causing damages on soybean, cotton, and common bean, but no report was found about the parasitism of this nematode in cowpea. The present study aimed to verify the host reaction of cowpea cultivars to A. besseyi. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions, using as inoculum two A. besseyi populations, obtained from symptomatic soybean and cotton plants collected in naturally infested fields. Cultivars ‘Imponente’, ‘Aracê’, ‘Guariba’, ‘Tumucumaque’, ‘Nova Era’, and ‘Tracuateua’ were inoculated with 500 A. besseyi of each population, separately, into soil and after 30 days from the inoculation nematodes were extracted from shoot systems. Both populations were able to parasitize all the cowpea cultivars. Independently of the cultivar, cowpea plants exhibited symptoms of leaf deformation similar to those described for soybean, cotton, and common bean and, in addition, severe brooming was observed and the interior of the stems was porous and necrotic. To our knowledge, this is the first report of parasitism by A. besseyi of cowpea in Brazil, under greenhouse conditions, increasing the list of hosts of this nematode.
First Report of Cowpea Mild Mottle Carlavirus on Yardlong Bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) in Venezuela
