The genus Meloidogyne Göldi, 1892, or root-knot nematodes, represent a relatively small but economically important group of obligate plant pathogens. They are distributed worldwide and parasitize on almost every higher plant species. While reproducing and feeding within roots, they induce galls or root-knots and disorder the physiology of the infected plant, reducing crop yield and product quality.
More than eighty nominal species have been described worldwide, while twenty species have been detected in Europe so far. This book includes a historical review on the genus, followed by a revision of the European species, and completed with a study on one of the most characteristic morphological structures within the genus: the perineal pattern.