Abstract
Axenic culture of Heterodera glycines was established on milk-vetch roots (Astragalus sinicus L.) genetically transformed by Agrobacterium rhizogenes. As the juvenile inocula increased, the number of females produced on the hairy roots increased but the ratio of females to inocula decreased. An inoculum level of 150-300 juveniles per petri dish (9cm diameter) on Root Culture Medium was the most efficient for propagating H. glycines. There were no significant differences in the number of produced females or in the period required for one generation between the milk-vetch hairy root and the soybean hairy root or cultured soybean root. One or two egg-laying females had to be transferred to a new hairy root culture to continue its life cycle because of the decline of hairy root activity. Milk-vetch hairy roots have the remarkable advantage over any other axenic cultured roots in that they are sufficiently transparent to enable observation of parasitic juveniles in the roots.
