Pathogenic Variability of Meloidogyne incognita Populations Occurring in Pepper-Production Greenhouses in Israel Toward Me1, Me3 and N Pepper Resistance Genes.

Natural variation in the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita is problematic for breeding programs: populations possessing similar morphological characteristics can produce different reactions on the same host. We collected 30 widely dispersed M. incognita populations from protected pepper production systems in major pepper-growing regions of Israel and accurately identified their virulence characteristics by modified differential host test in a growth chamber on tomato, tobacco, cotton, melon, pepper, and peanut.