TITLE:
Soil Free-Living Nematode Community in the Triticum aestivum Rhizosphere: Associations with Phenological Stages in a Rainfed Agriculture Area
AUTHORS:
Yosef Steinberger, May Levi, Adrian Unc, Tirza Doniger
KEYWORDS:
Wheat Rhizosphere, Nematode Community, Biodiversity, Rainfed Management
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.16 No.4,
April
30,
2026
ABSTRACT: Areas designated for cultivating wheat [Triticum aestivum] are the most extensive of all terrestrial crops. Due to its importance T. aestivum, has been the subject of numerous studies. In the present study, we investigated the effects of phenological stages of the wheat plant rhizosphere on the composition of soil free-living nematode communities. During the growth period [November 2020-August 2021], soil samples were collected at various intervals, corresponding to distinct phenological stages. Soil samples were obtained from the top layer [0 - 10 cm] for both biotic and abiotic analysis. The soil free-living nematode community was assessed using high-throughput sequencing of the 18S rRNA and its ITS gene regions. Our findings reveal that soil water content was significantly [p