Sucrose Solution

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RESEARCH NOTES

Expressing Sucrose Concentration in Solutions


Used for Extracting Nematodes

B. THISTLETHWAYTE AND R. M. RIEDELI

Plant nematologists often dissolve 484.5 g nematode recovery. For example, if the vol-
sucrose in a liter of water for centrifugal ume of a sucrose solution with specific gravity
flotation of nematodes from soil or plant 1.14 is increased 10% by addition of wa-
material (3, 8). The specific gravity of this ter, the specific gravity only changes to 1.13.
solution is 1.14 (9, authors' determinations), In practical terms, therefore, the sucrose
not 1.18 (3). A solution with specific solutions with specific gravity 1.10-1.18 are
gravity 1.18 contains 673 g sucrose per liter suitable for flotation of nematodes from soil
of water or 475 g sucrose per liter of solution or plants. There is evidence that efficient
(9). extraction of certain nematodes from soil
The specific gravity of vermiform nema- requires a precise specific gravity of the
todes from soil or plants appears to be be- flotation solution (10) and extraction of
tween 1.04 and 1.09 (3, 6). This is con- cysts of Heterodera spp. from moist soil
siderably less than 1.14 and it is likely requires solutions with specific gravity 1.20
that nematodes have been extracted effi- or more (4, 5).
ciently with a solution of 484.5 g sucrose per Authors have specified the composition of
liter of water. In fact, Caveness and Jensen flotation solutions in various ways; by stating
(3) found sucrose solutions with specific the specific gravity, by describing the solu-
gravity as low as 1.10 satisfactory for separa- tion as x% ( w / v ) , or by stating the solution
tion of nematodes by centrifugal flotation. contained x g sucrose per liter. Sometimes
Of 570 Ditylenchus dipsaci (Ktihn) added it has not been clear whether a solution con-
to soil, we recovered 291, 289, and 264 tained x g sucrose per liter water or x g
using sucrose solutions with specific gravity sucrose per liter solution. We suggest that
1.10, 1.14, or 1.18, respectively, and using flotation solutions be described as containing
procedures specified by Caveness and Jensen x g sucrose added to one liter of water, i.e.,
(3). Solutions with specific gravity 1.05 on a molal basis, because this is unambiguous
yielded only 162 D. dipsaci. Other authors and leads to the simplest and most practical
report satisfactory results with 1.0 M sucrose way of preparing these solutions. Molar
(2) and with which is 454 g sucrose per liter solutions are slightly more laborious to pre-
of water (1, 7); both solutions have a spe- pare, in that the solute must be dissolved
cific gravity close to 1.13 (9). uniformly and completely in the appropriate
It is unlikely that water in soil or in ma- volume of solution, rather than in the ap-
terial screened from soil sufficiently dilutes propriate volume of solvent. If necessary,
the sucrose solutions to affect the efficiency of the specific gravity or molarity of flotation
solutions prepared on a molal basis can also
Received for publication 29 May 1969.
be stated, or obtained by direct measurement
1 Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, N. Y. 14850. or by reference to standard tables (9).
387
388 RESEARCH NOTES

LITERATURE CITED recovery and counting of cysts of Heterod-


era schachtii from the soil. J. Helminthol.
1. AYALA, A., J. ROMAN, and A. C. TARJAN.
18:155-172.
1963. Comparison of four methods for 6. GmBINS, L. N., and G. S. GRANDISON. 1966.
isolating nematodes from soil samples. J.
A n improved centrifugal-flotation tech-
Agr. Univ. P.R. 47:219-225. nique for the isolation of Ditylenchus
2. BYRD, D. W., JR., C. J. NUSBAtrM, and K. R. dipsaci. Nematologica 12:642-643.
BARKER. 1966. A rapid flotation-sieving 7. JENKINS, W . R . 1964. A rapid centrifugal-
technique for extracting nematodes from flotation technique for separating nema-
soil. PI. Dis. Rep. 50:954-957. todes from soil. P1. Dis. Rep. 48:692.
3. CAVENESS, F. E. and H. J. JENSEN. 1955. 8. MILLER, P. M. 1957. A method for the
Modification of the centrifugal-flotation quick separation of nematodes from soil
technique for the isolation and concentra- samples. PI. Dis. Rep. 41:194.
tion of nematodes and their eggs from 9. WEAST, R. C. (ed.) 1968. Handbook of
soil and plant tissue. Proc. Helminthol. chemistry and physics. 49th ed. The
Soc. Wash. 22:87-89. Chemical Rubber Co., Cleveland, Ohio.
4. Dunn, R. A. 1969. Extraction of cysts of 10. WEBER, D. E., and A. S. WILLIAMS. 1968.
Heterodera species from soils by centri- Evaluation of the centrifugal-flotation
fugation in high density solutions. J. technique for the quantitative recovery of
Nematol. 1:7. (Abstr.) three types of ectoparasitic nematodes.
5. FENWlCK, D. W. 1940. Methods for the Nematologica 14:18. (Abstr.)

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