The sting nematode occurs infrequently in the North Carolina-Virginia production area. But where present, this nematode is probably the most damaging to peanuts. Its presence in fields may be detected early by the stunted growth of plants. When severe damage occurs, plants develop little more than a "rat-tail-like" appearing root system that consists of a tap root with only a few secondary roots. Damaged pods are smaller than normal and fail to attain normal size even at maturity. Sting nematode damage to peanuts almost always occurs in well-drained coarse sandy soils.