To our knowledge, this is the first report of M. arenaria and
M. javanica infecting common calla in Brazil. Both nematode
species are important pathogens on several crops in Brazil,
including ornamentals (Oliveira 2001). However, as shoot
damage on calla plants analysed in the present work was not
verified, further pathogenicity tests are necessary in order to
confirm crop damage. On the other hand, this finding has great
importance for growers. Since calla is propagated by bulbs, this
can serve as both an efficient way of spreading the pathogens
over long distances, and the introduction of these nematode
species to uninfested areas.