Soils and roots of 10 field crops grown in Northern and Upper East Regions of northern Ghana were sampled for the presence of plant parasitic and non-plant-parasitic nematodes. Species belonging to Xiphmema, Longidorus and Hoplolaimus were the most predominant and significantly higher, whereas Tylenchorhynchus was the least common genus of plant parasitic nematodes found. Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Heterodera and Hirschmanniella spp. were frequently found associated with soils and roots of tomato, peanut, soybean and irrigated rice respectively. In all, 16 genera of plant parasitic nematodes and eight of non-plant parasitic nematodes were recorded with the most ubiquitous being Cephalobus spp., (non parasitic) in root and soil samples of all the 10 crops irrespective of host location. Findings from the survey however, had provided evidence showing that soils and roots of most major crops grown throughout northern Ghana were infected with several types of parasitic nematodes.
