NEMATOLOGY IN PAKISTAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

摘要

Agriculture is the most important sector of Pakistan's economy. It provides the means of livelihood for more than 75 % of its population. It is also the main source of our foreign exchange earnings. Effective improvement in the agricultural productivity depends on appropriate crop protection from pests and diseases. Among these, the problem of nematodes in agricultural productivition is of significant importance. These tiny pests cause enormous losses to the farm income by way of reduced yield as well as the quality of the produce. Nematodes as plant parasites play rather destructive role and cause an average damage of up to 20 % or even complete crop loss if coupled with other pathogens. According to Ray (1992) there are frequent references to nematodes from the ancient India as recorded in the Vedas (6000 - 4000 BC), the earliest record of human history, under the Sanskrit name Krmin or Krmi which refers to what the science today called 'nematodes'. Words less frequently used for nematodes in theVedas are 'Sarpah (meaning snake) and 'Apsarash' (meaning one which moves retrogressively). 'In Pakistan, systematic research was initiated after the establishment of National Nematological Research Centre (NNRC) at the University of Karachi in 1974. Ever since, the centre has contributed a great deal of research information towards solving some of our national nematode problems in agriculture with emphasis on identification and taxonomy of nematode fauna. Extensive surveys of different cereals, vegetables, fruits and economically important crops in all provinces were carried out to determine the presence of nematodes. As a result of these investigations the nematode fauna of Pakistan that has been determined so far, includes 582 species belonging to223 genera, 62 sub-families, 83 families, 21 super families, 18 sub-orders, 11 orders and 2 classes of plant, soil, entomophagous and free-living marine nematodes. Of them, 160 new nematode species have been described so far from Pakistan. Other researchinstitutions and universities have also been engaged in short term research projects at various places. The time has however come when we should now be concerned about the future effectiveness of research programmes in reducing losses caused by nematodes and in developing and advocating appropriate agricultural systems and management practices that are sustainable, environmentally friendly and more productive within existing resources. Institutional mechanisms need to be improved and strengthened to act as Centers of Excellence for the advancement of agricultural nematology in the country. Nevertheless, the future of nematology in Pakistan is bright with wider application of nematodes in non-traditional areas such as environmetal pollution.