A preliminary survey indicated that the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica is widely distributed in the rhizosphere of medicinal plants in Boyer-Ahmad region (Iran). Host suitability of ten species of medicinal plants to M. javanica was examined in a pot experiment under controlled greenhouse conditions: alkakengy (Physalis alkekengi L.), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.), English plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), garden anchusa (Anchusa italica Retz.), horehound (Marrubium vulgare L.), lovage (Levisticum officinale L.), sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.), thistle (Echinops adenocaulos Boiss.) and woundwort (Stachys pilifera Benth.). According to the scheme of Canto-Saenz, seven species, namely garden anchusa, fennel, horehound, alkakengy, English plantain, woundwort and sorrel can be considered susceptible hosts with gall index (GI) > 2 and reproduction factor (RF) > 1, and thistle, lovage and chamomile, can be considered as hyper-susceptible with GI > 2 and RF ≤ 1.
