Abstract: The abnormal rice with small grains and erect panicles were found on a large scale in China, which showed shortend rice panicle and decreased number of grains in comparison with normal rice, and the grain was small and black-brown, and some of them were distorted, while the flag leaf was normal. A kind of nematode of Aphelenchoides was isolated from the grains of rice variety Wuyujing 3 which performed ‘small grains and erect panicles’ symptom. There were 2014 nematodes in one hundred grains infected, and up to 74 in single grain, 92 percent of the grains tested had nematodes in the infested panicles. The diagnosis characters of nematode include lateral fields about one-fourth as wide as body, with 4 incisures. The terminus bears a mucro of diverse shape with 3-4 pointed processes. The female post-vulval uterine sac extends less than 50% of distance from vulva to anus, no sperm in it. Oocytes usually arrange in 2-4 rows. The male spicules have a moderately developed rostrum. Morphological measurements showed it to be conspecific with Aphelenchoides besseyi Christie, 1942.

Key words: Aphelenchoides besseyi, abnormal rice with small grains and erect panicles, identification, nematode, nematodiasis