New data on quarantine pests and pests of the EPPO Alert List
By searching through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests and pests included on the EPPO Alert List, and indicated in bold the situation of the pest concerned using the terms of ISPM no. 8.
- New records
Two invasive eucalyptus psyllids, Blastopsylla occidentalis and Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) are reported for the first time in Israel. Both were found on Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The first specimens of B. occidentalis had been collected in 2008 near Herzliya, and then in other locations along the central coastal plain of Israel, mainly in Bet Dagan and Tel Aviv. G. brimblecombei (formerly EPPO Alert List) was first found in 2014 in the Judean foothills near Elad. Populations of this species are apparently limited to isolated spots in central coastal areas (Ramat Gan, Palmachim) and in the Judean foothills (Spodek et al., 2015).
During surveys conducted in 2011/2012 in 8 districts of Northern Benin, the presence of Cowpea mild mottle virus (Carlavirus, CPMMV – EU Annexes) was detected. CPMMV was found in approximately 30% of the studied soybean fields (Zinsou et al., 2015). Present, found in the main soybean-growing areas.
In October 2014, Dacus frontalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) was reported for the first time in Tunisia. The pest was found in a cucumber (Cucumis sativus) field in the region of El-Jebil, Kairouan (Central Tunisia). Preliminary data suggest that the pest is already established in 4 Tunisian regions (Gafsa, Kairouan, Sfax, Sousse). D. frontalis is a pest of cucurbits which is known to occur in the eastern and southern parts of Africa, as well as in the Near East (Hafsi et al., 2015). Present: first found in 2014 and established in 4 regions.
In 2015, the presence of Raoiella indica (Acarida: Tenuipalpidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was reported for the first time in Guyana. The red palm mite was initially found along the Essequibo River on Wakenaam Island, and then on the neighbouring island of Leguan (IPPC, 2015). Phytosanitary measures were implemented on both islands to prevent any further spread. Present: only in some areas where host crops are grown.
Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus – EPPO A2 List) occurs in French Polynesia. The virus was detected in October 2014 on symptomatic tomato samples collected from Tahiti (IPPC, 2015). Present: only in some areas but managed.
- Detailed records
In Croatia, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae – EPPO A2 List) was found for the first time in 2010 in Istria (EPPO RS 2012/207). In 2011 and 2012, the pest was detected in 5 counties of Istria and fruit infestations were recorded mainly in Istarska and Primorsko-goranska counties. In Dalmatia, D. suzukii was first detected in the municipality of Vrgorac (Splitsko-dalmatinska county). Specific surveys conducted in 2013 in Dalmatia showed that the pest is now widespread in this region. Adults were detected in traps suspended in Prunus cerasus (sour cherry), Prunus persica (peach), Ficus carica (fig) and Morus alba (mulberry) trees grown individually and in orchards, in the counties of Dubrovačko–neretvanska, Splitsko–dalmatinska, Šibensko–kninska and Zadarska. These studies confirmed the rapid spread of D. suzukii in Croatia (Bjeliš et al., 2015).
On 2015, the NPPO of Australia officially declared that in recent years, there have been no reports of fanleaf disease in South Australia or Victoria despite routine surveillance, domestic testing and post-entry quarantine pathogen screening. Therefore, Grapevine fanleaf virus is considered absent from Australia (IPPC, 2015).
In 2015-05-20, a dead specimen of Rhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae - EPPO A1 List) was found in Yuma, Arizona (US). This finding resulted from a monitoring survey that responded to earlier detections of R. palmarum in California (in 2011) and in Texas (in 2012). The pest status of R. palmarum in the USA is officially declared as: Transient, actionable, and under surveillance (NAPPO, 2015).
- Diagnostic
A duplex realtime RT-PCR test has been developed in India for the detection of Potato spindle tuber viroid (Pospiviroid, PSTVd – EPPO A2 List). The authors considered that this test was highly sensitive and rapid, and particularly useful for the rapid screening of imported plant material, such as germplasm in post-entry quarantine (Jeevalatha et al., 2015).
- New pests
A new begomovirus infecting tomatoes in Argentina has been characterized and tentatively called Tomato mottle wrinkle virus (ToMoWrV). Its biolistic inoculation into tomato plants produced leaf mottling and mild wrinkling symptoms. Recombination analysis revealed that ToMoWrV is a recombinant and that its parental sequences probably belonged to the following South American begomoviruses: Soybean blistering mosaic virus (SoBlMV) and Tomato yellow vein streak virus (ToYVSV) (Vaghi Medina et al., 2015).
- New host plants
In New Zealand, studies were conducted in Hawke’s Bay (North Island) to identify weeds which could potentially serve as reservoirs for ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (potato haplotypes listed in EPPO A1 List). The pathogen could be detected in Solanum pseudocapsicum and Datura stramonium. Infected plants of S. pseudocapsicum showed symptoms of yellowing and chlorosis, whereas those of D. stramonium remained symptomless (Vereijssen et al., 2015).
A natural infection of Fraxinus ornus by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (formerly EPPO Alert List) has been found in Austria. The fungus was isolated from 4 leaf rachises with necrotic lesions collected from seedlings which had been planted in a forest site where the disease pressure was significant (Kirisits and Schwanda, 2015).
Sources
Bjeliš M, Buljubašić I, Popović L, Masten Milek T (2015) Spread of the spotted wing drosophila – Drosophila suzukii (Diptera, Drosophlidae) and new distribution records in Dalmatia region of Croatia. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 45(early view). doi:10.1111/epp.12205
Hafsi A, Abbes K, Harbi A, Ben Othmen S, Limem E, Elimem M, Ksantini M, Chermiti B (2015) The pumpkin fly Dacus frontalis (Diptera: Tephritidae): a new pest of curcubits in Tunisia. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 45(early view) doi: 10.1111/epp.12204
IPPC website. Official Pest Reports – Australia (2015-06-25) Absence of Grapevine fanleaf virus from Australia. https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/australia/pestreports/2015/06/absence-of-grapevine-fanleaf-virus-from-australia/
IPPC website. Official Pest Reports – French Polynesia (2015-07-01) Tomato yellow leaf curl virus on tomato plants. https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/french-polynesia/pestreports/2015/07/tomato-yellow-leaf-curl-virus-on-tomato-plants/
IPPC website. Official Pest Reports – Guyana (2015-06-16) First report of red palm mite (Raoiella indica) in Guyana. https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/guyana/pestreports/2015/06/occurence-of-red-palm-mite/
Jeevalatha A, Kumar R, Raigond B, Sundaresha S, Sharma S, Singh BP (2015) Duplex realtime RT-PCR assay for the detection of Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) along with ef 1-a gene of potato. Phytoparasitica 43(3), 317-325.
Kirisits T, Schwanda K (2015) First definite report of natural infection of Fraxinus ornus by Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Forest Pathology doi: 10.1111/efp.12211
NAPPO Phytosanitary Pest Alert System. Official Pest Reports. USA (2015-07-07) Rhynchophorus palmarum (South American Palm Weevil) – Detection in Arizona. http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=626
Spodek M, Burckhardt D, Protasov A, Mendel Z (2015) First record of two invasive eucalypt psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) in Israel. Phytoparasitica 43(3), 401-406.
Vaghi Medina CG, Martin DP, López Lambertini PM (2015) Tomato mottle wrinkle virus, a recombinant begomovirus infecting tomato in Argentina. Archives of Virology 160(2), 581-585 (via PestLens).
Vereijssen J, Taylor NM, Barnes AM, Thompson SE, Logan DP, Butler RC, Yen AL, Finlay KJ (2015) First report of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' in Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) and thorn-apple (Datura stramonium) in New Zealand. New Disease Reports 32, 1. [http://dx.doi.org/10.5197/j.2044-0588.2015.032.001
Zinsou VA, Afouda LAC, Zoumarou-Wallis N, Dossou L, Gomez J, Soumaïla F, Afloukou F, Kotchofa R (2015) Importance of Cowpea mild mottle virus on soybean (Glycine max) in Benin and effect of planting date on soybean (G. max) virus level in northern Benin. Crop Protection 72, 139-143.