EN
Characteristic damage caused by feeding leaf nematodes were recorded on sage plants of Compacta erecta group growing in the field in spring 2009. Nematological analysis showed the Aphelenchoides ritzemabosi presence in collected leaves. Seeds were sampled in the autumn from sage plants and then used for seedlings’ production in the next vegetation season. Collected seeds were stored over the winter and then sown into plastic boxes in the glasshouse conditions in February 2010. In April seedlings were replanted into larger pots. They already had symptoms such as weak growth and partial leaf deformations. These were the typical symptoms of damage caused by foliar nematodes which were later found in the field during the vegetation period. The analysis of leaves confirmed A. ritzemabosi presence. Further investigation showed also the presence of nematodes in seeds. In Poland, this was the first record leaf damages caused by A. ritzemabosi on Salvia splendens. Comparison of Aphelenchoides cytochrome oxidase gene subunit I (COI) allowed to design primers for molecular identification of A. ritzemabosi. The primer pair reproducibly amplified the COI region of A. ritzemabosi, generating a 248-bp product using total genomic DNA extracted from individual nematodes.