First report of Thekopsora minima in Germany
The NPPO of Germany recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of the blueberry leaf rust, Thekopsora minima, on its territory. In June 2015, the rust was first observed by a plant protection advisor on young potted plants of Vaccinium corymbosum cv. ‘Pink Icing’ growing in the greenhouse of a nursery located in Lower-Saxony. The fungus was identified morphologically and with DNA sequencing. In autumn 2015, T. minima was also found in V. corymbosum cv. ‘Blue Crop’ in a garden centre in Hamburg. The person had brought the infected plants to the plant protection service of Lower-Saxony for diagnosis. The fungus was also found in V. corybosum cv. ‘Goldtraube’ potted plants which had been bought in a garden centre in Lower-Saxony. Rust symptoms could be found in plants that had remained at this garden centre. The plants concerned originated from the nursery in Lower-Saxony where the disease had been detected on the cv. ‘Goldraube’. Investigations showed that the plants from the latter nursery originated from another one in Lower-Saxony where the disease was also detected on cvs. ‘Goldraube’, ‘Cipria’ and ‘WE-97-1’. Tracing-back and forward investigations are on-going. It is suspected that T. minima might have been introduced with young plants imported from the USA (country where the disease occurs). Official control measures have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Some plants have been destroyed and quarantine has been imposed. Further inspections are planned to better understand the situation of this disease in Germany and finally decide on the objective of official measures.
The pest status of Thekopsora minima in Germany is officially declared as: Transient, actionable, under eradication.
Sources
NPPO of Germany (2016-03).
JKI Express-PRA on Thekopsora minima: http://pflanzengesundheit.jki.bund.de/dokumente/upload/fee0d_thekopsora-minima_express-pra.pdf