White tip nematode

Rice is the most important host worldwide. Other host plants include; strawberry, onion, garlic, sweet corn, sweet potato, soybean, sugar cane, horseradish, lettuce, millet, many grasses, orchids, chrysanthemum, marigold, Mexican sunflower, African violets, and rubber plant (Hibiscus brachenridgii). Feeding of the nematodes at leaf tips in rice results in whitening of the top 3 to 5 cm of the leaf leading to necrosis (described as "White Tip" of rice). There is also distortion of the flag leaf that encloses the panicle. Diseased plants are stunted, lack vigour and produce small panicles. Affected panicles show high sterility, distorted glumes and small and distorted kernels.