Feeding Selectivity of and on Fungi Associated with Florida Strawberry.

and are foliar nematodes associated with commercial strawberry production in Florida, United States. The reproductive and feeding habits of these two nematode species were assessed on Florida isolates of the fungi , , , and , which are pathogenic to strawberry, and nonpathogenic isolates of and grown on potato dextrose agar in Petri dishes. Each culture was inoculated with six specimens of mixed life stages of or and incubated at 24°C under axenic and nonaxenic conditions 23 and 31 days after inoculation, respectively. reproduction rates were greater on strawberry-pathogenic isolates of , , and than on the nonpathogenic isolates of and . In contrast, reproductive rates of did not vary among fungi cultures. For both nematode species, was a poor host because it did not produce mycelium on the media used. Our findings indicate that is more selective in its fungal-feeding preference than . Additionally, eggs and juveniles were significantly more numerous than adults. Yet, for , adult stages were more abundant. Fungi aid in the maintenance of soil-dwelling populations of these two nematode species. Removing fungus-infected strawberry plant residues is both a desirable and effective management practice to limit in central Florida commercial strawberry fields.