| Date | 1743 |
| Author | Needham |
| Contribution | Discovered that grains of smutty wheat consisted of masses of worms. |
| Reference | Parris |
| Notes | John Turbevill Needham (1713-1781). He did not call the worms nematodes. Parris considers this the first observation that nematodes cause disease in plants. Gerald Thorne, in his 1961 book, gives a quotation from Needham. Organism was later named Anguina tritici. |
| Category | Causation |
| Pathogen Class | Helminths |
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