Heterodera filipjevi continues to be a major threat to wheat production worldwide. Rapid detection and quantification of cyst nematodes are essential for more effective control against this nematode disease. In the present study, a TaqManminor groove binder (TaqMan-MGB) probe-based fluorescence quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was successfully developed and used for quantifying H. filipjevi from DNA extracts of soil. The primers and probe designed from the obtained RAPD-SCAR marker fragments of H. filipjevi showed high specificity to H. filipjevi using DNA from isolatesconfirmed species of 23 Heterodera spp., 1 Globodera spp. and 3 Pratylenchus spp. The qPCR assay is highly sensitive and provides improved H. filipjevi detection sensitivity of as low as 4^–3 single second-stage juvenile (J2) DNAs, 10^–3 female DNAs, and 0.01 μg μL^–1 genomic DNAs. A standard curve relating to the threshold cycle and log values of nematode numbers was generated and validated from artificially infested soils and was used to quantify H. filipjevi in naturally infested field soils. There was a high correlation between the H. filipjevi numbers estimated from 32 naturally infested field soils by both conventional methods and the numbers quantified using the qPCR assay. qPCR potentially provides a useful platform for the efficient detection and quantification of H. filipjevi directly from field soils and to quantify this species directly from DNA extracts of field soils

Stunt nematodes (Tylenchorhynchus spp.) are obligate migratory root ecto-parasitic nematodes found in the fields of many cultivated crops.  These nematodes, with phyto-sanitary potential, are frequently ignored or misdiagnosed as pests, and this may pose a threat to food security.  The accuracy of its identification based on a morphological approach has been challenged recently, due to the overlapping of the morphological and morphometric characters of the species.  Consequently, the objective of this study is to identify and characterize stunt nematodes present in 54 fields cultivated with cereal crops (wheat, maize and rice) in the savannahs of northern Nigeria, using integrative taxonomy and molecular approaches.  The molecular and morphological studies identified and confirmed the presence of T. annulatus as the occurring specie in the savannahs of northern Nigeria.  The phylogenetic analysis was carried out using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S genes of ribosomal DNA further confirmed the presence of T. annulatus.  The first molecular characterization and sequences of the ITS and 28S rDNA gene for T. annulatus from Nigeria were provided by this research.  Also, according to our literature search, this is the first report on T. annulatus in wheat, maize and rice in the savannahs of northern Nigeria.  Further study to test the pathogenicity of the parasitic nematode species found in this survey is recommended for the prioritization and development of efficient management strategies.