Isolation of entomopathogenic nematodes from Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam
Rinki Mani Kalita, Jisna George, Gitanjali Devi and Badal Bhattacharyya
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are lethal parasites of insects, used as biocontrol agents. The objective of this work was to survey the presence of EPN in Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam and to characterize the different species. Out of 200 soil samples, 8 were positive for entomopathogenic nematodes (4%), with 4 (2%) Steinernema isolates, 2 (1%) Heterorhabditis isolatesand 2 (1%) Oscheius isolates. These EPNs have been identified on the basis of morphological and morphometric character. The identified species were Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Oscheius chongmingensis. Entomopathogenic nematodes were not recovered from the fallow land.