TRANSPORT OF NEMATODES BY WIND IN THE PEANUT CROPPING AREA OF SENEGAL, WEST-AFRICA

Studies were conducted on the transport of nematodes by the wind in th e peanut cropping area of Senegal by trapping sand and dust in pots pu shed into the soil. Amounts of sand and dust recovered were not relate d to either the geographical locality of the traps or to the crop grow n during the previous rainy season; they increased from the beginning to the end of the dry season, probably in relation to the disruption o f surface vegetation by cattle. Nematodes recovered were dominated by mycetophagous and bacteriophagous forms; dorylaims and plant parasitic tylenchs were always low in number. Numbers of nematodes recovered ap peared to be related to the abundance of the soil nematode population around individual traps. Laboratory tests showed that nematodes transp orted by the wind maintained their reproduction potential despite mech anical, moisture and thermal stresses.