THE CLOVER CYST NEMATODE <i>(HETERODERA TRIFOLII</i> GOFFART) AS THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF DEATH OF WHITE CLOVER IN A SWARD

Abstract

In a lawn on sandy soil many clover patches were found, in the centres of which the clover was dead or growing poorly. A similar patch was found in another lawn. Investigation of the soil and clover roots showed that the phenomenon was probably caused by the clover cyst nematode Heterodera trifolii Goffart. Though it is likely that this damage will also occur in normal pastures, it may not manifest itself in the typical form found in lawns, since clover plants cannot expand as regularly in pastures as in lawns. Where clover is distributed irregularly in the field, a random sampling may give no real information on the clover cyst nematode population.