Eradication of the isolated infestation of Xylella fastidiosa in Germany
In Germany, an isolated infestation of X. fastidiosa (EPPO A1 List) was detected in July 2016 in a potted plant of Nerium oleander showing unusual symptoms. This single plant was in a small glasshouse of a nursery producing young vegetables and ornamental plants in Saxony. Laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa in this symptomatic oleander plant (EPPO RS 2016/133). Eradication measures were immediately taken. From July to December 2016, all potential host plants located within a radius of 100 m around the infested zone were destroyed (all EU specified host plants were sampled and tested but X. fastidiosa was not detected). In the infested zone, all plants present in the nursery were investigated. As a result, further individual plants (Rosmarinus, Streptocarpus hybrid, Erysimum hybrid) were found to be infested. As a precautionary measure, all plants in the concerned nursery were destroyed in February 2017. During the 2017 vegetation period (June to September), visual inspections were carried across the whole delimited area (buffer zone of 1 km radius + an outer buffer zone of 10 km radius around the infested area) and 706 plant samples were collected and tested. As a result, X. fastidiosa was not detected. In addition, 294 potential insect vectors were caught and tested for the presence of the bacterium, and similarly all results were negative. As no further detections of the bacterium were made during surveys conducted in the glasshouse concerned and its surroundings, this isolated infestation was officially declared eradicated in March 2018.
The pest status of Xylella fastidiosa in Germany is officially declared as: Absent, pest eradicated.
Sources
NPPO of Germany (2018-03).