Seasonal effects on the vertical distribution of eelworms in soil cultivated with bell peppers

Abstract

The study examined eelworm richness in soil across three core depths at dry and wet seasons, drawing inferences on the effects of seasons on the vertical distribution of the agronomical parasites. Soil samples were collected randomly from the rhizosphere of bell pepper at 0-10 cm, 11-20 cm and 21-30 cm core depths at dry and wet seasons using a soil auger. The extraction of eelworms was by the use of the modified sieve plate technique and a pictorial key was used for identification to the genera level. The concentration of eel worms during the dry season was 20.4%, 33.6% and 46.0 % in 1-10 cm, 11-20 cm and 21-30 cm core depths respectively; exhibiting downward migration. During the wet season, there was a steady decrease in the population of eelworms down the soil core depths, 49.3% at 1-10 cm, 37.2 % at 11-20 cm and 13.5 % at 21- 30 cm. Species diversity of eelworms was unevenly distributed across the core depths within seasons. The actual distribution against each core depth was significant within and between seasons (p <0.05). The study opined that seasonal variations impact eelworms' richness and distribution across core depths in soil.