CHINHOYI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
NAME : TOGA BRANDON
REG NUMBER : C22151745G
PROGRAM : BIOTECHNOLOGY ( BSBIO )
MODULE : MICROBIOLOGY(CUBIO102)
LAB TECHNICIAN : MR KAWOCHA
INSTRUCTOR : MR SILIVANI
LECTURER : MR E.T SERO
LEVEL : 1.1
PRACTICAL REPORT : 1
PRACTICAL TOPIC : NEMATODE EXTRACTION
Abstract
Nematodes are extracted by different techniques either active or passive in nature. The Baermann
technique is the commonly used method due to its advantage of requiring no sophisticated
equipment. Plant and soil samples were placed on coarse tissue paper on a mesh screen, then put
in the cone of a funnel and immersed in water. Since they are motile, the nematodes craw
through the moist soil and fell down into the neck of the funnel to the bottom of the stem. After 5
hours, the water was decanted and only leaving 50 ml of the suspension which was poured into a
counting dish and observed under a microscopy.

Introduction
Nematodes are invertebrates, worm-like animals belonging to the phylum Nematoda. They lack
eyes, appendages and have unsegmented thread-like body with tougher outer cuticle as well as a
digestive system with openings at both ends. (Biologyonline, 2021). Nematodes are found in
many different kinds of environment that support life that is are found in fresh water, in soil,
salty water and as internal parasites of animals and plants. Nematodes enhance nutrient
mineralization and act as biological control agents. The simplest way to extract these nematodes
is to submerge a plant sample in water in a petri dish and select them directly for identification
under a microscope. However, for soil samples it is impossible to observe the nematodes directly
due to the dense cloud of soil particles hence certain techniques such as the Seinhorst Mist
extraction and the Baermann technique. The Baermann technique was introduced by Baermann
in 1917 which is used to extract motile nematodes from plant material and soil using a funnel.
(Ayoub 1980) In its original version, the Baermann technique, the sample was wrapped in a
tissue cloth and almost fully incubated in which resulted in low nematode recovery.
(Oosternbrink, 1954) Modern versions were introduced which now use a wire basket plus a filter
to spread the sample over a larger area. The Baermann technique makes use of nematode
mobility that is infected plant material is placed in water, nematodes crawl out of the material
and sink.
Objectives:
-To be familiar with Nematode extraction techniques used in the laboratory.
- To understand the procedures and principle associated with the Baermann funnel technique
Materials
1. knife or pair of scissors
2. cotton-wool milk filter or equivalent
3. funnel made of glass
4. stand to hold the funnel
5. plastic sieve or wire basket of large enough aperture to allow nematode passage
6. 20 or 25 um aperture sieve
7. 100ml glass beaker
8. inverse or compound microscope
9. clean water
10. microscope slide and counting slide

Methodology
Procedures
A thin layer(1-2cm) of soil and plant tissues cut into small pieces were placed on a cheesecloth
in a 40 or 60 mesh sieve. The sieve was submerged in tap water in shallow dish with the sieve
supported so that it stays 1cm above the bottom of the dish. After 24 hours, the sieve was
removed, the water poured from dish into a glass cylinder and allowed to settle for 5 hours. The
settled water was carefully decanted leaving only 50 ml of concentrated nematode suspension at
the bottom of the cylinder. The remaining dirty suspension was then poured into a counting dish
and then examined under a microscope.

Results
The image above shows a microscopic view of a typical roundworm after observing under a
microscope. It was in constant motion or motility.

Discussion
When viewed under a microscopy, a roundworm was observed as it is one of the types of
nematodes hence nematodes were extracted using the Baermann technique. The specimen was
also motile under the microscope therefore the nematodes were able to crawl out of the plant and
soil material to sink in water.
Conclusion
Nematodes since they are capable of movement can be extracted from plant or soil material
using the Baermann technique
References
https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/nematode
Ayoub SM (1980) Plant Nematology. An Agricultural Training Aid