Morphological and Molecular Identification of Longidorus euonymusand Helicotylenchus multicinctusfrom the Rhizosphere of Grapevine and Banana in Greece

Plant-parasitic nematodes such as Longidorus euonymusand Helicotylenchus multicintctusare species widely distributed in central Europe as well as in Mediterranean area. In Greece, both species have been previously reported but no morphometrics or molecular data were available for these species. Nematode surveys in the rhizosphere of grapevines in Athens carried out in 2016 and 2017, yielded a Longidorusspecies identified as Longidorus euonymus. Similarly, a population of Helicotylenchus multicinctuswas detected infecting banana roots from an outdoor crop in Tertsa, Crete. For both species, morphometrics and molecular data of Greek populations were provided, resulting in the first integrative identification of both nematode species based on morphometric and molecular markers, confirming the occurrence of these two nematodes in Greece as had been stated in earlier reports.