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Golden Nematode

Golden nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) is a serious agricultural and quarantine pest. The United States positively identified G. rostochiensis in 1941 in a potato field in New York that had been a staging area for military equipment returning from World War I. Mud on the tires of returning vehicles likely spread the nematode.  Cysts of the nematode can live in soil for 30 years and the nematode can cause direct crop losses, increase pest control costs, constrain cropping patterns, and devalue infested land. Potatoes and tomatoes are the principal crops of economic importance attacked by this pest. The nematode also reproduces on the roots of eggplant and on some wild solanaceous weeds. Quarantine measures and crop rotations of G. rostochiensis-resistant potato varieties with non-host crops are successful control strategies that have contained the nematode to portions of New York. There are no current impacts on interstate or international trade, other than certain survey and certification requirements, because the United States has G. rostochiensis under effective control and containment.  

Pest Identification

• Image Gallery

Regulation

Federal Orders

• August 20, 2021, Removal of 45,562.067 acres from the golden nematode regulated area in Suffolk County, New York and refining the global positioning system points (GPS) for the descriptions of the regulated area in the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County,New York. 
• February 21, 2018, Removal of 193,782 acres from the golden nematode regulated area in Cayuga, Seneca, Steuben, Suffolk, and Wayne Counties in New York 
• September 17, 2014, Removal of Golden Nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) Regulated Areas in Orleans, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties in New York 
• February 13, 2012, Revisions to the golden nematode regulated areas in Steuben and Livingston Counties in New York State 
• December 22, 2010, Removal of the townships of Elba and Byron in Genesee County, New York, from the golden nematode regulated area

Quarantine Information

• Golden Nematode Quarantine Map
• Golden Nematode Regulated Articles
• Worldwide Distribution of Nematodes

Pest Management

• Environmental Documents
• Best Management Practices 
• Golden Nematode Program Manual  (11.82 Mb)
• Potato Cyst Nematode National Survey Plan 
• Potato Cyst Nematode Guidelines - Guidelines on Surveillance and Phytosanitary Actions [Updated May 7, 2014] 
  • Clarification to the Definition of "Field" - [Updated May 19, 2015]
  • Amendment to Facilitate Research and Field Trials [Effective May 17, 2019]
    
• Potentially Actionable Suspect Samples and Cyst Nematodes Affecting Potatoes 
• Steam Treatment of Golden Nematode 

Program Publications

• Golden Nematode (Fact Sheet)
• Golden Nematode (Flyer) (PDF; 1.23 Mb)
• The Golden Nematode Handbook: Survey, Laboratory, Control, and Quarantine Procedures. Agriculture Handbook Year, 1968, Volume No. 353, U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
  • Part 1 (PDF; 12 Mb)
  • Part 2 (PDF; 16 Mb)
• Potato Cyst Nematodes (Pest Alert)
• On-Line Resources
   

Contact

Lynn Evans-Goldner
National Policy Manager
Telephone: 301-851-2286
Email: lynn.evans-goldner@aphis.usda.gov