<![CDATA[Strawberries are a popular fruit crop with promising cultivation prospects in Indonesia. However, their production is constrained by various pathogens, including plant-parasitic nematodes. This study aimed to characterize the nematode Scutellonema brachyurum infecting strawberry plants in West Java using morphological and molecular approaches. Soil and root samples were selectively collected from both symptomatic and asymptomatic plants. Nematodes were extracted from soil using the flotation–centrifugation technique and from roots using the mist chamber method. Morphological identification was complemented by molecular analysis using universal D2A/D3B primers targeting the D2–D3 region of the 28S rRNA gene, followed by DNA sequencing. Data were processed and analyzed descriptively. The nematode S. brachyurum infecting strawberry plants was successfully characterized using both morphological and molecular techniques. PCR amplification produced DNA fragments of approximately 700 bp. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that S. brachyurum isolates from West Java shared 83.7%–93.8% similarity with isolates from other countries. Scutellonema brachyurum was identified in Lebakmuncang (Ciwidey Sub-district) and Alamendah (Rancabali Sub-district), Bandung Regency, as well as in Langensari (Lembang Sub-district), West Bandung Regency. The nematode population detected in the samples ranged from 1 to 6 individuals. These findings indicate that S. brachyurum is distributed across several major strawberry-producing areas in West Java.]]>
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