The Iowa State University (ISU) Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic is the only facility in Iowa that extracts and identifies plant-parasitic nematodes from soil and root samples submitted by farmers and those who advise them. The results of testing for nematodes that feed on corn in Iowa from 2000 to 2010 were summarized and published in an article this week titled “Testing for Plant-parasitic Nematodes that Feed on Corn in Iowa 2000-2010,” by G.L. Tylka, A.J. Sisson, L.C. Jesse, J. Kennicker, and C.C. Marett in the online journal Plant Health Progress.

The main findings of the summary give an overall sense of what is currently known about the extent of plant-parasitic nematodes affecting corn production in Iowa.