Two methods for staining nematodes in plant tissues

Abstract

In the investigation of plant material infested with parasitic and related nematodes various methods are available. One often has recourse to the teasing apart of affected tissues in water with the liberation of the contained organisms or the latter may be obtained by soaking the material in a Baermann funnel. It is frequently desirable, however, to determine the actual presence and location of nematodes in the host tissues without recourse to teasing and for this purpose some appropriate method of staining is necessary such that the nematodes are suitably coloured whilst the tissues of the host are coloured but little or not at all and thus permit the passage of light after the usual processes of dehydration and clearing have been carried out.