Laboratory screening of white clover for resistance to stem nematode

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Abstract
A preliminary screening was made of many lines of white clover to find a line suited to New Zealand conditions, with resistance to the stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci). A rapid screening technique developed for seedlings by Scandinavian workers was modified to give results which related to field resistance studies. The effects of inoculation varied with age of seedling, unsatisfactory results being obtained if plants were inoculated too soon after germination. Varieties differed in their relative susceptibilities to the white clover and red clover races of nematodes. Screening has revealed several lines relatively resistant to stem nematodes, and these have now to be tested for agronomic type.