In the first root exudate experiment, a significantly lower
nematode penetration rate (P 0.05) was observed in the mycorrhizal
roots than in the control roots when both treatments had
received distilled water (mycorrhizal plants/H2O vs. control plants/
H2O) (Table 2). The highest nematode penetration rate was
observed in the control roots to which root exudates from control
plants (control plants/ex AM) had been applied. In none of the
treatments male R. similis were recovered from the roots 12 days
after inoculation, while in all treatments a small number of females
was observed (Table 2). The majority of the penetrated nematodes
consisted of juveniles.