FUNGAL FEEDING PREFERENCES OF TWO Aphelenchoides spp. FROM FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FIELDS, Aphelenchoides besseyi, A FACULTATIVE PLANT-PARASITIC NEMATODE, AND, A. pseudogoodeyi, AN OBLIGATE FUNGAL-FEEDING NEMATODE

Aphelenchoides besseyi and A. pseudogoodeyi are two foliar nematodes associated with strawberry in Florida. In 2016, A. besseyi was found on several strawberry farms in Florida, causing severe stunting and considerable damage. Recent surveys in Florida strawberry fields have revealed the presence of many other Aphelenchoides spp. One of those is a newly discovered species, A. pseudogoodeyi, which appears to be a strictly fungal feeding nematode (Oliveira et al., 2019). It is hypothesized that both nematode species could feed and reproduced on fungi present in the soil, which could serve as a reservoir of theses nematodes and contribute for an increase of their populations at the end of the crop season. Feeding and reproductive abilities of these two nematodes were assessed on Florida isolates of four fungi pathogenic to strawberry; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Macrophomina phaseolina, Pestalotiopsis clavispora, and Botrytis cinerea, one non-pathogenic; Fusarium oxysporum and one fungus pathogenic to peach; Monilinia fructicola. Aphelenchoides besseyi’s reproduction were significantly higher (p-value