in their life cycle (egg stage, four juvenile stages, and then adulthood). They first survive the winter as eggs in the soil. The first juvenile stage occurs while in the egg. When the eggs hatch—usually when the soil temperature is 18°C—the nematode is in its second juvenile stage, and will start to find, enter, and infect plant roots. The males are able to move freely and leave the root after they become adults, while the females stay sedentary and feed on cells next to the vascular system. Eventually, the females grow to the point where a portion of their bodies pop out of the root surface so that pearly white bodies can be seen. They then start laying thousands of eggs in egg masses outside the root. The life cycle takes about three to four weeks and therefore the population can grow very fast. Depending on the host and the soil temperature, the life cycle of Meloidogyne hapla can be between 17 and 57 days. Nematodes in cooler regions usually have longer life cycles. Eggs may remain inside root tissue or may be released into the soil matrix and survive for up to one year. Management Meloidogyne hapla are one of the most destructive nematodes in agriculture. They are difficult to control due to their wide host range and high rate of reproduction. However, using a combination of control practices, known as integrated pest management plant (IPM), has been proven to be effective. Depending on the control method being utilized, different parts of the root-knot nematode disease cycle is disturbed. Cultural control Before planting, one method of control is to leave the land fallow (empty for a duration), soil kept bare, cultivated, and weed controlled for 4-6 months to expose the nematodes to the sun to dry and starve to death. Another control that can be done before the planting season is the use of cover crops such as sudangrass and marigolds which produce chemicals toxic to nematodes. They also stabilize topsoil and improve soil quality which in turn increases microbial competition in the soil. Rotation of nonhost crops (grasses, corn, barley, wheat, oat, rye, asparagus, onions) can also reduce nematode populations. During growth, soil amendments and maintenance are very important. Adding manure, compost, and organic matter improves soil quality to again increase microbial competition as well as allow the plants to grow stronger and be able to withstand nematode