The maintenance of live nematodes is a crucial task for various studies
related to their biology, taxonomy, and genetics. It is essential to have a living source
of nematodes for future research purposes. Researchers typically use media or plants to
culture and multiply nematodes. While agar serves as a base ingredient for several
nematodes, liquid or solid culture media is used for laboratory rearing. It is important
to note that culturing plant-parasitic nematodes is more challenging in the lab than
free-living nematodes. However, entomopathogenic nematodes can be cultured in large
quantities for pest control purposes. This chapter provides a thorough discussion of the
culturing methods of several nematodes. Greenhouses are an essential tool for
nematologists to study nematodes in the field of integrated pest management. By using
various types of greenhouses, researchers can achieve their goals in nematode biology.
The Phytotron provides the most precise and controlled environment for biological
studies, while certain nematodes, such as Meloidogyne and cyst nematodes, can be
mass-reared in greenhouses for further molecular or biological surveys. This chapter
delves into the important tasks associated with greenhouses for economically
significant plant-parasitic nematodes.
Keywords: Bacteria, Biology, Culture, Greenhouse, Laboratory, Multiplication, Phytotron, Water agar.
