The rhizosphere of Matti, Krishna Kanthali and Kanchakala (cooking type) also supported a high population density (423, 332 and 220 per 200 cc soil + 10 g root, respectively) of P. coffeae. A very low popula¬tion of P. coffeae (17 per 200 cc soil + 10 g root) was found in Seed Banana. This further indicated that those cultivars could be susceptible or favourable to P. coffeae for multi¬plication resulting in high population. The low nematode population in seed banana could be presumably due to a suppressive effect or resistance response on P. coffeae. A high population of the spiral nematode