Beneficial Role of Nematodes in Soil and Plant Health Hussaini S.S., Nagesh M., Walia R.K.1, Vyas R.V.2, Kamra Anju3, Mohan Sharad3 National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, Bangalore, Karnataka, India 1CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana 2Anand Agricultural University, Gujarat 3Division of Nematology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, India Abstract Nematodes constitute a highly diversified group of organisms which are divided into parasitic and free-living forms. In addition to cause damage, they play a significant role in regulating primary production, predation, energy transfer, decomposition of organic matter, and nutrient cycling in soil ecosystems. The entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the families Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae, and their bacteria complex have attained the status of bio-pesticides. Nematodes are also used as models for studying complex biological systems in diverse scientific fields such as genetics, development, nutrition, environmental toxicology, pharmacology, and gerontology. The free-living nematodes (bacterivorous, fungivorous and omnivorous) are much less studied than the parasitic species although they play a significant role in decomposition of organic matter and nutrient cycling. This review has made an attempt to scan the various role the nematodes play apart from causing enormous damage to agricultural crops. Top Keywords Biological control, biological models, entomopathogenic nematodes, mineralization, nutrient recycling, plant-parasitic nematodes. Top |