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
During routine surveys on pests and diseases of roses carried out in 2017, Ceratitis rosa (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A1 List) was found for the first time Syria. Larvae of C. rosa were found among petals of flowers of Rosa damascena in Damascus. Adults were reared from these larvae and identified as C. rosa (Kawas and Basheer, 2018). Present, only in some areas (Damascus).
In the Netherlands, Monilia polystroma was reported for the first time in November 2017. The fungus was detected in 4 discarded fruits of Pyrus sp. in a waste bin at a packing station (NPPO, 2017). Present, incidental finding.
During spring 2016, Myzus mumecola (Hemiptera: Aphididae) was detected for the first time in Italy. The aphid was found on apricot (Prunus armeniaca) orchards in Emilia-Romagna. Infested apricot trees showed leaf curling and deformations. M. mumecola originates from Asia where it is known to occur in China, India, Japan, Russia (East Siberia) and Taiwan. It is noted that transmission studies carried out in a Japanese laboratory have concluded that M. mumecola could transmit Plum pox virus with an efficiency similar to that of M. persicae (Panini et al., 2017). Present, only in some areas.
In Côte d’Ivoire, a lethal yellowing-type of disease has been observed on coconut (Cocos nucifera) in Grand-Lahou (along the Southern coast). In 2013, the presence of a phytoplasma was found in association with the disease. It is estimated that this disease has decimated more than 400 ha of coconut plantations and continues to spread into more villages of the municipality of Grand-Lahou. Molecular studies have shown that the phytoplasma associated with yellowing coconut palms in Grand-Lahou can be distinguished from the phytoplasmas associated with Cape St Paul wilt disease in Ghana and with lethal yellowing in Mozambique (Rosete et al., 2017). Present, only in some areas.
- Detailed records
In 2017, official surveys on Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae – EPPO A2 List) were conducted in Finland. In total, 645 inspections were conducted in 320 greenhouses and in 72 other premises (market inspections). During these inspections, 293 samples were collected. B. tabaci was found in 54 greenhouses producing ornamental plants (approximately 28 % of the outbreaks were on Mandevilla, 34 % on Euphorbia pulcherrima (poinsettias), 31 % on Glechoma, 7 % on various other species). During market inspections, 8 infestations were found. It is noted that in Finland, there are no local producers of poinsettia or bedding plant cuttings, but these are imported from abroad. In all cases, insecticide treatments, destruction of infested plants, and other appropriate measures were taken to eradicate the pest (NPPO of Finland, 2018).
In Turkey, during a study conducted on 198 bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) seed samples from 12 provinces of central Anatolia region, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens (EPPO A2 List) was detected in 0.5% of the samples (Bastas and Sahin, 2017).
In Turkey, during a study conducted in onion (Allium cepa) fields in 2016, Ditylenchus dipsaci (EPPO A2 List) was detected in the following regions (and provinces): Aegean region (Bursa), Central Anatolia region (Akzaray, Ankara, Eskisehir, Karaman), Mediterranean region (Adana, Hatay), and Trace region (Tekirdag). The identity of the nematode was confirmed by morphological and molecular methods (Yavuzaslanoglu et al., 2018).
In Finland, official surveys on Globodera pallida (EPPO A2 List) were conducted in 2017. In total 964 soil samples (covering 2474 ha) were tested for the presence of the nematode: 315 samples (1640 ha) were collected from fields used for seed potato production, 638 samples (834 ha) from fields used for potato production other than seed potatoes, and 11 samples from other fields. In 2017, G. palIida was found in 3 new potato production places (potatoes other than seed potatoes). In all these farms, both species, G. pallida and G. rostochiensis, were found. Because eradication measures are applied for at least 6-9 years, altogether 13 farms were still considered to be infested in 2017 (NPPO of Finland, 2018).
- Diagnostics
A new real-time PCR assay has been developed in the United Kingdom for the specific detection of Cryphonectria parasitica (EPPO A2 List). This test can detect both virulent and hypovirulent strains of C. parasitica (Rubio et al., 2017).
A new LAMP test has been developed in China for the specific detection of Meloidogyne mali (EPPO A2 List). It is considered that this method would be useful in the routine monitoring of M. mali (Zhou et al., 2017).
A new LAMP test has been developed for the specific detection of Xanthomonas fragariae (EPPO A2 List) (Tétaz et al., 2017).
- Epidemiology
During studies conducted in Washington and Idaho (US), ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (potato haplotypes are listed in the EPPO A1 List) was detected in Bactericera maculipennis (Hemiptera: Triozidae). Molecular studies showed that that the haplotype of ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ from B. maculipennis was closely related to haplotype B from B. cockerelli (also collected during this study). During transmission trials, infected B. maculipennis could not transmit ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ to potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants. It is supposed that potato is probably not a suitable host for this psyllid which is mainly associated with Convolvulaceae (Borges et al., 2017).
- New pests and taxonomy
A new geminivirus tentatively called Grapevine geminivirus A (GGVA) has recently been described. This new virus was detected by high throughput sequencing (HTS) in 2 table grape (Vitis vinifera cvs. Black Beet, Nagano Purple) accessions from South Korea which had been received in 2013 in the USA as dormant cuttings for inclusion in a grapevine germplasm collection in California (Al Rwahnih et al., 2017).
A new root-knot nematode species, Meloidogyne daklakensis n. sp., has recently been described. This nematode was discovered on roots of Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) in the Dak Lak province in Vietnam (Trinh et al., 2018).
Phytophthora caryae sp. nov. is a new Phytophthora species which has been recovered from streams and rivers in Massachusetts and North Carolina, USA. Sapling inoculations done under greenhouse conditions suggest that P. caryae could be pathogenic to Carya ovata (Juglandaceae, shagbark hickory), but not to Juglans nigra (Juglandaceae, black walnut) (Brazee et al., 2017).
A new nematode species, Xiphinema tica n. sp., has recently been described. This nematode was first found in the rhizosphere of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) at Chirraca (San Ignacio de Acosta, San José province) in Costa Rica. X. tica was then also detected in the rhizosphere of other wild and cultivated plant species (i.e. Annona, Citrus, Coffea, Cynodon) in other localities of Costa Rica (Peraza-Padilla et al., 2018).
Sources
Al Rwahnih MA, Alabi OJ, Westrick NM, Golino D, Rowhani A (2017) Description of a novel monopartite geminivirus and its defective subviral genome in grapevine. Phytopathology 107(2), 240-251.
Bastas KK, Sahin F (2017) Evaluation of seedborne bacterial pathogens on common bean cultivars grown in central Anatolia region, Turkey. European Journal of Plant Pathology 147(2), 239-253.
Brazee NJ, Yang X, HongCS (2017) Phytophthora caryae sp. nov., a new species recovered from streams and rivers in the eastern United States. Plant Pathology 66(5), 805-817.
Gétaz M, Bühlmann A, Schneeberger PHH, Van Melderghem C, Duffy B, Maes M, Pothier JF, Cottyn B (2017) A diagnostic tool for improved detection of Xanthomonas fragariae using a rapid and highly specific LAMP assay designed with comparative genomics. Plant Pathology 66(7), 1094-1102.
Kawas H, Basheer A (2018) First record of Natal fruit fly Ceratitis rosa Karsch, 1887 (Insecta: Diptera: Tephritidae) on damask rose Rosa damascena Mill L., (Rosaceae) in Syria. Arab and Near East Plant Protection Newsletter no. 73, 6-7. http://www.asplantprotection.org/PDF/ANEPPN/ANEPPNL73En.pdf.
NPPO of Finland (2018-02).
NPPO of the Netherlands (2017-11).
Panini M, Cocuzza M, Dradi D, Chiesa O, Mazzoni E (2017) First report of Myzus mumecola (Matsumura, 1917) in Europe. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 47(1), 107-110.
Peraza-Padilla W, Cantalapiedra-Navarrete C, Zamora-Araya T, Palomares-Rius JE, Castillo P, Archidona-Yuste A (2018) A new dagger nematode, Xiphinema tica n. sp. (Nematoda: Longidoridae), from Costa Rica with updating of the polytomous key of Loof and Luc (1990). European Journal of Plant Pathology 150(1), 73-90.
Rosete YA, Diallo HA, Konan Konan JL, Yankey N, Saleh M, Pilet F, Contaldo N, Paltrinieri S, Bertaccini A, Scott J (2017) Detection and differentiation of the coconut lethal yellowing phytoplasma in coconut-growing villages of Grand-Lahou, Côte d'Ivoire. Annals of Applied Biology 170(3), 33-347.
Rubio S, Barnes A, Webb K, Hodgetts J (2017) A real-time PCR assay for improved rapid, specific detection of Cryphonectria parasitica. Annals of Applied Biology 171(1), 52-61.
Trinh Q, Le T, Nguyen T, Nguyen, H, Liebanas G, Nguyen T (2018). Meloidogyne daklakensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), a new root-knot nematode associated with Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner) in the Western Highlands, Vietnam. Journal of Helminthology, 1-13. doi:10.1017/S0022149X18000202 (abst.).
Yavuzaslanoglu E, Ates Sonmezoglu O, Genc N, Akar Z, Terzi B (2018) Molecular characterization of Ditylenchus dipsaci on onion in Turkey. European Journal of Plant Pathology 151(1), 195-200.
Zhou QJ, Cai Y, Gu JF, Wang X, Che J (2017) Rapid and sensitive detection of Meloidogyne mali by loop-mediated isothermal amplification combined with a lateral flow dipstick. European Journal of Plant Pathology 148(4), 755-769.