Creation and Validation of a Temperature-Based Phenology Model for Meloidogyne incognita on Common Bean

The thermal requirements of Meloidogyne incognita on Phaseolus vulgaris in a set of constant soil temperatures were determined and the phenology model was validated at fluctuating soil temperatures. The base temperature (Tb) and the thermal constant (S) from nematode inoculation to females starting to lay eggs were 11.3 °C and 323 accumulated degree days (DD), respectively; Tb = 10.5 °C and S = 147 DD from egg production to emergence of juveniles; and Tb = 11.1 °C and S = 476 DD for life cycle completion. At fluctuating soil temperatures in pots with the minimum lower than Tb and the maximum higher than To (optimal temperature), the DD calculation was carried out by the average daily temperature–Tb (ADTb) and the single sine method over Tb (SSTb) with horizontal, intermediate, and vertical cutoffs. The most accurate were the ADTb and the SSTb with horizontal and intermediate cutoffs (93–106% of the predicted value) but the vertical underestimated the accumulated DD (75–82% of the predicted value). When fluctuating soil temperatures were between Tb and To in a plastic greenhouse, only the ADTb method was used. Life cycle completion was observed around 465 DD (accuracy between 0.95 and 0.99) at four different transplanting dates.