Nematode Management in the Vegetable Garden

Vegetable gardening is a popular pastime for many people in Florida. In addition to being fun, the vegetables just seem to taste better when they are homegrown. Unfortunately, humans are not the only creatures who eat vegetables. Most gardeners have had the experience of putting hours of hard work into a garden expecting a bountiful harvest only to have it lost due to some problem. Who are the culprits? They may be things we can see, like rabbits, birds, or insects, or they may be invisible, too small to be seen. Due to our warm temperatures, sandy soil, and humidity, Florida has more than its fair share of microscopic pests and pathogens. Plant-parasitic nematodes (Figure 1) can be among the most damaging and hard-to-control of these organisms.