Three Polish, four other European and three tropical isolates of the nematophagous fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium were screened for their ability to colonise the surface of barley roots, produce chlamydospores and infect eggs of Meloidogyne incognita in laboratory tests. PCR-fingerprinting of different Polish isolates and Vc10 was used to detect differences between isolates. Among the European isolates, the Polish isolate which came from a field fertilised with manure produced the greatest number of viable chlamydospores, the largest proportion of infected eggs of Meloidogyne incognita and the most prolific root colonisation. Among the tropical isolates, an isolate A produced the largest number of chlamydospores and an isolate B was the most prolific root coloniser and parasitised most of M. incognita eggs.
In 1997- 1998 the effect of manure, straw and mustard on fungi parasitization of eggs of beet cyst nematode in three years sugar beet rotation was investigated. The highest eggs parasitization by fungi was observed inside cysts from plots with spring barley cultivation and sugar beet as a forecrop. Straw fertilizer favored more fungi parasitization than manure. Three species of nematophagous fungi were isolated from eggs: Cylindrocarpon destructans, Paecilomyces lilacinus and Verticillium chlamydosporium.