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 (or formerly 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
In August 2015, 4 maple trees (Acer campestre) displaying large cankers were observed in Hungary in a lowland oak forest. The cankers showed the characteristics of Eutypella canker of maple: the bark was firmly attached to the stem; mycelial fans were present in the bark at the edge of the cankers; and perithecial necks protruded abundantly from the canker surface. Laboratory analysis (morphological, PCR, sequencing) confirmed the presence of Eutypella parasitica (formerly EPPO Alert List). As some large cankers (up to 1 m in length) were observed, it is estimated that the fungus has been present for approximately 30 years. The authors considered that specific surveys for E. parasitica should be performed to assess the current distribution of the disease in Europe and evaluate its impact (Jurc et al., 2016). Present, only in some areas.
The presence of Potato mop-top virus (Pomovirus, PMTV) is reported for the first time from Chile. PMTV has been detected on potato samples which had been collected in 2012 on native potatoes from several locations in the Chiloé Archipelago (Chiloé province), Southern Chile (Peña et al., 2016). Present, only in some areas.
Since the initial detection of the Ug99 strain of Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici (black stem rust) in Uganda in 1998, 10 variants of the Ug99 race group have been detected in the following 12 countries: Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea, Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Yemen, and Iran. During the 2014 wheat growing season, the presence of this virulent race group of P. graminis f.sp. tritici was suspected in Egypt. Laboratory analysis confirmed that several Egyptian isolates belonged to the Ug99 race group (Patpour et al., 2016). Present, no details.
Bacterial spot of tomato caused by Xanthomonas gardneri (EPPO A2 List) is reported for the first time from Malaysia. Symptoms were observed in May 2013 in several commercial tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fields in Cameron Highlands near Pahang (Peninsular Malaysia). Laboratory tests (PCR, sequencing, pathogenicity) confirmed the identity of the bacterium (Rashid et al., 2016). Present, only in some areas.
- Detailed records
Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae – EPPO A2 List) was first observed in Egypt in 2009 and rapidly spread across the country (El-Rahman Salama, 2015). Surveys conducted in Egypt from 2010 to 2011 in 12 governorates showed that it was causing severe damage to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops (Moussa et al., 2013).
During studies conducted in 2013 and 2015 Tomato chlorosis virus (Crinivirus, TocV – EPPO A2 List) was found on aubergine crops in several Brazilian states. ToCV has been detected in samples of aubergine (Solanum melongena cvs ‘Napoli’ and ‘Ciça’) showing interveinal yellowing on older leaves. These samples had been collected from fields that were heavily infested by Bemisia tabaci in Canguçu (Rio Grande do Sul) and Formosa (Goiás). The virus was also found in symptomatic aubergines (Solanum aethiopicum cv. ‘Comprido’) collected in Venda Nova do Imigrante (Espírito Santo), Bragança Paulista (São Paulo), and Brasília–Federal District. It is noted that this is also the first time that both S. melongena and S. aethiopicum are reported as a natural hosts of ToCV in Brazil (Fonseca et al., 2016).
In Louisiana (US), bacterial spot of tomato was observed during autumn 2013 and spring 2014 in 3 parishes (Livingston, East Baton Rouge, and Tangipohoa). Disease incidence was 100% and foliar disease severity ranged from 20 to 80%. Laboratory analysis (molecular, pathogenicity tests) confirmed the presence of Xanthomonas perforans (EPPO A2 List) (Lewis Ivey, 2016).
- New host plants
In the vicinity of a sweet cherry (Prunus avium) orchard located in Chelan county (Washington state, USA), Cherry rasp leaf virus (Cheravirus, CRLV – EPPO A1 List) was detected in elderberry trees (Sambucus nigra subsp. caerulea) showing chlorotic ring patterns, leaf blotch, and leaf deformations. The orchard had a large proportion of trees affected by cherry rasp leaf disease (approximately 30%). CRLV was also detected in weed samples (Malva spp.). It is considered that both Sambucus nigra and Malva spp. could act as potential reservoirs of CRLV and should be taken into account in disease control strategies (Villamor and Eastwell, 2016).
Meloidogyne enterolobii (EPPO A2 List) was detected in banana (Musa nana cv. 'Baxi') root samples collected from an orchard in Xuemei Village (Changtai county, Zhangzhou region), Fujian province, China. The collected root samples exhibited classical symptoms of infestation by root-knot nematodes. It is noted that further research should be carried out on the potential economic impact of M. enterolobii on banana cultivation (Zhou et al., 2016).
In Greece, Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (Crinivirus, TICV – EPPO A2 List) has been detected in the weed species Dittrichia viscosa (Asteraceae). These plants were installed in a tomato greenhouse to attract and sustain populations of Macrolophus caliginosus a biocontrol agent used against the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Orfanidou et al., 2016).
Sources
El-Rahman Salama HS, Ismail IAK, Fouda M, Ebadah I, Shehata I (2015) Some ecological and behavioral aspects of the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta. Ecologia Balkanica 7(2), 35-44.
Fonseca MEN, Boiteux LS, Lima MF, Mendonça JL, Costa AF, Fontes MG, Costa H, González-Arcos M (2016) First report of Tomato chlorosis virus infecting eggplant and scarlet eggplant in Brazil. Plant Disease 100(4), p 867.
Jurc D, Ogris N, Piškur B, Csóka G (2016) First report of Eutypella canker of maple (Eutypella parasitica) in Hungary. Plant Disease 100(6), p 1241.
Lewis Ivey ML, Strayer A, Sidhu JK, Minsavage GV (2016) Bacterial leaf spot of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) in Louisiana is caused by Xanthomonas perforans, tomato race 4. Plant Disease 100(6), p 1233.
Moussa S, Sharma A, Baiomy F, El-Adi F (2013) The status of tomato leaf miner: Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Egypt and potential effective pesticides. Academic Journal of Entomology 6(3), 110-115.
Orfanidou CG, Maliogka VI, Katis NI (2016) False yellowhead (Dittrichia viscosa), a banker plant as source of Tomato infectious chlorosis virus in Greece. Plant Disease 100(4), p 869.
Patpour M, Hovmøller MS, Shahin AA, Newcom M, Olivera P, Jin Y, Luster D, Hodson D, Nazari K, Azab M (2016) First report of the Ug99 race group of wheat stem rust, Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, in Egypt in 2014. Plant Disease 100(4), p 863.
Peña E, Gutiérrez M, Montecinos A, Muñoz M, Vargas E, Acuña I, Gutiérrez RA, Rosales IM (2016) First report of Potato mop-top virus in Chile. Plant Disease 100(6), p 1250.
Rashid TS, Kamaruzaman S, Golkhandan E, Nasehi A, Awla HK (2016) First report of Xanthomonas gardneri causing bacterial spot of tomato in Malaysia. Plant Disease 100(4), p 854.
Zhou X, Cheng X, Xiao S, Liu GK, Zhang SS (2016) First report of Meloidogyne enterolobii on banana in China. Plant Disease 100(4), p 863.