Rice is a strategic crop for Burkina Faso but the performance of improved varieties is limited by
both abiotic (rainfall and soils) and biotic (insects and diseases) factors. The negative impact of
the parasitic nematodes on the productivity of rice varieties was identified by many studies. The
objective of the current study was to evaluate the occurrence of the foliar nematode
Aphelenchoides besseyi Christie in rice seed samples from the 3 main rice-growing ecologies in
Burkina Faso. One hundred forty five (145) seed samples were collected at 51 locations of rice
produced during the rainy season of 2014-2015 and analyzed for the presence of foliar nematode
A. besseyi. The results showed respectively 64.3%, 58.6% and 28.9% occurrence of the foliar
nematode in the seeds from upland, lowland and irrigated ecologies. These results varied from the
Sudanian zone (39.3%) to the Sudan-sahelian zone (44.0%). The results showed maximum
populations of the nematode A. besseyi of 85 individuals per 100 seeds according to rice ecology
and the agroclimatic zone of Burkina Faso.

Foliar Nematode, Aphelenchoides besseyi, Occurrence, Rice Ecology, Burkina Faso.