Population abundance and distribution of ectoparasitic plant nematodes associated with apple trees (Malus domestica) in apple belts of Kashmir, India

Fruits as a back bone of horticulture are grown over an area of 5.50 million hectares in our country with a production of over 55 million metric tones per year. Our country accounts for 10% of the total world production. Among various fruits, apple being the pre-dominant temperate fruit of India accounts for about 3% of the total fruit production of the country. India stands 8th in apple production in the world but ranks at 53rd position in terms of productivity (FOA, 2007).