GREENHOUSE STUDIES COMPARING STRAINS OF THE FUNGUS VERTICILLIUM-LECANII FOR ACTIVITY AGAINST THE NEMATODE HETERODERA-GLYCINES

In a greenhouse experiment, five strains of the fungus Verticillium le canii were compared for their effects on soybean cyst nematode populat ion densities. Four strains were mutants selected for increased tolera nce to benomyl; the fifth strain was a wild type (ATCC 58909). Alginat e prius containing fungus were applied at 0.5 g and 5.0 g prills per p ot (each pot contained 530 g soil mixture). At the 5.0 g prius per pot application rate, all four mutant strains caused significant reductio ns in cyst numbers compared to controls without fungus. No strains wer e effective against the nematode when the prills were applied at 0.5 g per pot.