Isolated finding of Phytophthora ramorum in the Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, Phytophthora ramorum (EPPO Alert List) has occasionally been detected, mainly on imported plants (EPPO RS 2005/159, 2008/031, 2011/223), but is always subject to eradication measures. Official surveys have confirmed that the 4 previous isolated findings made in 2003, 2009 and 2011 (2 cases) had been eradicated. In 2013-06-10, the disease was observed on 1 Rhododendron plant during an official survey conducted in a garden centre located at Štáblovice (Opava district, Moravian-Silesian region). The identity of the pathogen was confirmed in 2013-06-20 by PCR. The source of this infection remains unclear. The infected plant belonged to a consignment of rhododendrons which had been delivered by a Belgian company in April 2013. However, this consignment had also stayed in the premises of the Czech garden centre for a period during which the plant may have been infected from another source. It is also noted that P. ramorum had never been found in this garden centre before, and that the survey conducted on its production site in June 2013 did not detect P. ramorum.
The pest status of Phytophthora ramorum in the Czech Republic is officially declared as: Transient, a new isolated finding under eradication.
Sources
NPPO of the Czech Republic (2013-07).