Morphological and Morphometric Identification of Steinernema abbasi (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) from Düzce, Türkiye

Interest in the use of nematodes as biological pest control agents has grown exponentially over the past two decades. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) (Steinernema and Heterorhabditis) have been particularly successful in managing pest problems in agriculture and horticulture. One of the most important requirements in biological control programmes is the accurate identification of pests and any beneficial organisms with biocontrol potential. The aim of this study was to identify an unknown entomopathogenic nematode that was collected from a hazelnut orchard in Düzce, Türkiye. Our study reports methods for the identification of Steinernema abbasi, based on morphological and morphometric characterization. The unknown entomopathogenic nematode, Strain 1, was identified as S. abbasi.