Coming to a root near you…
Watch out for Wormula, a plant sucking scoundrel the world over. You can’t see it, you can’t hear it, but it’s there… slithering through the soil smaller than your eye can catch–thousands of wormulas: sneaking into roots, snacking on their sap. These nasty nematodes enslave innocent cells to make their food.
Once bitten, normal plants transform into worm servants, their sole purpose to provide the worms with more and more food. Healthy plants become mere shadows of their former selves. They become withered and stooped. Their green leaves wilt. Gnarly knots can form on their rotting roots. These plants are defenseless against the onslaught of any other disease that may wish to control them.
How do we stop this menacing threat to our little green friends? We can’t pound tiny stakes through the hearts of each microscopic worm, but we could find a plant strong enough to resist the nematodes’ unrelenting attack. We could even try to isolate the sinister parasites in their infested grounds by not transporting soil from one field to another. Check your boots!
Wormula
Meet the stars:Sting Nematode: Belonolaimus sp.
Sting has been seen in such plants as sorghum and soybeans. Sting is excited to be reunited with its longtime co-star, Corn Root, in Wormula. Minor roles have included root parasitism of many other fruit and vegetable crops. When not performing Sting prefers to lounge in warm sandy soils.
Baby Sting Nematode: B. sp.
The youngest member of the Wormula cast, big things are expected for this up-and-coming star. Baby Sting aspires to hatch and molt into more adult roles.
Root Knot Nematode: Meloidogyne javanica
This stunning starlet with a stylet has wowed audiences worldwide by munching on nearly all cultivated plants. This jet-setting worm usually prefers tropical climes to the cold soils of Illinois, but has graciously made an exception to star in Wormula. A homebody at heart, Root Knot Nematode prefers long runs in a single root to searching the soil for new roles.
Needle Nematode: Longidorus africanus
This giant star of stage and screen is long in tooth and body. Though in the midst of major cosmetic reconstruction, Needle heeded the Wormula casting call and made a brief but memorable appearance. In the future, look for Needle to nibble a root tip near you.
Lesion Nematode: Pratylenchus penetrans
Though short in stature, lesion makes the best of small roles by plunging itself headlong into its performance. Often seen in ensemble pieces like Wormula, this burly worm paves the way for lesser known species of actors to follow in its distinguished worm tracks.
Soybean Cyst Nematode: Heterodera Glycines
Soybean Cyst Nematode [SCN] is delighted to have been considered for the Wormula cast. SCN has been seen in roots in the United States since 1954, but has been attacking plants for centuries in such exotic locales as China, Japan and Korea. SCN recently received the rating of Number One Pest in the north central United States. Persistence has paid off for SCN, and it can survive in an encysted state for many years between roles.