- Nematodes contain more than 27 million eggs. They lay more then 200,000 in a single day, creating an extremely large and constantly growing population.
- The amount of Nematodes found in the soil is due to a variety of biotic and abiotic factors.
- Most Nematodes spend their entire life in the soil and survive based on the temperature, moisture, aeration, texture, chemicals, pH, and host plants in that soil.
- The optimum thermal temperature of the soil should be between 15-30º C.
- Nematodes require a small amount of moisture in the soil to survive, a lack of oxygen affects the population due to asphyxia.
- Most Nematodes prefer light soil texture, with a minimal amount of sand, silt, and clay.
- The concentration of chemicals like fertilizer, manure, and pesticides controls soil moisture and soil chemistry.
- pH does not affect Nematodes directly, but affects other host plants which add to the dynamic between soil and the nematodes.
- Crops and their planting pattern affect the concentration of Nematodes in an area of soil.
- Nematodes also interact with micro-organism's in the soil, which results in disease complexes, common in nature.
- Nematodes can barely move, however, and rely on irrigation, agriculture machinery, wind and livestock to distribute their population.
- Nematodes can be threatening to farming, if their population is too dense underneath their crops, it can cause parasites and other diseases to be transmitted into the crop.