Root lesion nematode; Pratylenchus thornei (Sher and Allen) is a migratory endoparasite commonly fed and reproduced in the cortical tissue of the host. Necrotic lesions are developed when they commonly severe infesting the host roots. To determine the their vertical distribution of in chickpea – maize crop rotation, the soil and root samples were collected from different levels of soil depth during Rabi-2016 and Kharif-2017. The size of sample was 1 kg/depth and replicated thrice. The samples were processed with Whitehead tray extraction method and P. thornei populations were examined. Distribution of P. thornei in chickpea field was enormous and they were between to 30 cm of the soil depth with the encountered population ranging from 600 to 5000 N/200 cm3 soil and 100 to 700 N/5 g root. The samples collected from rhizospheric soils of maize kharif were examined for their distribution pattern, was maximum (1000-1200 N/200 cm3 soil) between 12 to 18 cm soil depth. However depth of 10 cm was encountered with ambient population of nematodes whereas 16 cm there was scarcity of the population. Simultaneously examination of the maize roots population around the maize was not sustained in any of the roots within different depth of soil. | Vertical distribution of root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei) under chickpea- maize crop rotation
