Research by Dr. Marisol Quintanilla
In this one-year field project, Dr. Marisol Quintanilla of MSU’s Applied Nematology Lab was funded to study two objectives: 1) to survey wheat fields previously identified as potential SCN hosts, and 2) to determine interactions between SCN and six other crops to break the nematode cycle.
Objective #1: Survey wheat fields and root analysis. From prior field research, Quintanilla’s team had identified the presence of SCN in some wheat fields and sought to determine whether the SCN juveniles had colonized the wheat roots. This was not the case.
Findings suggest that previous reports identifying wheat as a host for SCN may have been influenced by soil contamination rather than true root infection. Overall, results indicate that wheat is unlikely to be a suitable host for SCN.
Objective #2: Evaluate SCN interactions with wheat for host status potential. This study looked at SCN interaction with wheat, cereal rye, barley, oat, oilseed radish and soybean cultivars to assess their potential as cover or trap crops for SCN management.
Compared to the fallow control plot, wheat effectively limited SCN reproduction, potentially showing some value for nematode control and crop rotation planning.
Click below to review the 2025 final report.
Research by Dr. Marisol Quintanilla
In this one-year greenhouse project, Dr. Marisol Quintanilla conducted two experiments: 1) looked at whether wheat hosted soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), and 2) to determine whether wheat could serve as a trap crop, or host, for SCN.
Study #1. Commonly planted Michigan wheat varieties were planted, inoculated with SCN eggs (two concentrations), grown out for two months, harvested and evaluated microscopically for the presence of SCN.
No SCN was found in the roots of any variety: AgriMAXY 498, Whitetail, MCIA Wharf, DG 9172 and DF119R. Conversely, SCN was found in the susceptible soybean control. The experiment validated soybean as a host for all stages of SC, while wheat was identified as a nonhost plant.
Click below to review the 2025 final report.
Research by Dr. Marisol Quintanilla, Elisabeth Darling, Razieh Yazdani
In the second and final year of this project, Dr. Quintanilla expanded the number of Michigan wheat fields observed. The team took 1,500 samples across 30 wheat fields during their respective harvest times. The nematodes were isolated from the soil, as well as from 1-gram root samples.
Quintanilla’s research indicated that while the root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus spp.) was found in 90% of surveyed fields, in no location did it exceed the threshold of 200/100 cu. cm. of soil. Root lesion nematodes were more prevalent in wheat fields with sandy/loam soils vs. loam/clay soils.
Click below to review the 2023 final written report and data charts on this project.
Research by Dr. Marisol Quintanilla, Elisabeth Darling, Luisa Parrado, et al.
In 2022, Dr. Quintanilla undertook Michigan’s first-ever survey of the prevalence of common plant-parasitic nematodes in winter wheat. The survey took place in five Michigan wheat producing counties: Jackson, Oceana, Monroe, Sanilac and Tuscola.
Nematodes can be very damaging to wheat yields, and build up over time due to crop rotation and lack of nematicidal soil treatments. Using soil and root samples, Quintanilla’s team found seven common nematode genera in wheat fields. They reported that 73% of their root samples on these farms included root lesion nematodes, and that 100% of the Michigan wheat fields sampled had at least one root lesion nematode.
In the next step, individual nematodes were isolated with special focus on three root lesion nematode species. If future work is funded, the team would like to study root lesion nematode impacts in greenhouse conditions to learn which wheat varieties are more or less tolerant of the nematodes.
Click below to review the 2022 final written report on this project.
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