Introduction to Nematology

 Nematology is an important branch of  biological science, which deals with a complex, diverse group of round worms known as Nematodes that occur worldwide in essentially all environment. Nematodes are also known as eelworm in europe , nemas in the United States and round worms by zoologists. Many species are important parasites of plants and animals, whereas others are beneficial to agriculture and the environment. Nematodes that are parasites of man and animals are called helminthes and the study is known as Helminthology. The plant parasitic forms are called nematodes and the study is known as plant nematology. The name nematode was derived from Greek words nema (thread)and oides (resmbling).

    Annual crop losses due to these obligate parasites have been estimated to be about $78 billion worldwide and $8 billion for U.S growers. The estimated annual crop loss in Tamil Nadu is around Rs.200 crores.

    The soils in a hectare of all agro ecosystem typically contain billions of plant parasitic as well as beneficial nematodes .The damage to plants caused by nematodes is often overlooked because the associated symptoms, including slow growth ,stunting and yellowing ,can also be attributed to nutritional and water related disorders.