Potato rot nematode, Ditylenchus destructor (Nematoda: Tylenchidae), infecting hops in New Zealand

The potato rot nematode, Ditylenchus destructor Thorne, 1945, is recorded for the first time in New Zealand. It was found infecting the roots of hop plants (Humulus lupulus L.) on two properties in the Motueka district, South Island. Distribution was patchy on both properties, but damage to plants was severe. The nematode readily established on laboratory cultures of the fungi Alternaria tenuis and A. solani, and on tubers and root systems of the potato. Specimens from the field were smaller than those reared in the laboratory, and gonadal length was shorter.