First report of Lecanosticta acicola in Spain
The NPPO of Spain informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first official record of Lecanosticta acicola (EPPO A2 List) on its territory. In November 2018, in the framework of an official inspection for the detection of Fusarium circinatum, symptoms of Lecanosticta acicola were observed on Pinus radiata in a nursery of forestry plants located in the municipality of Munitibar (Vizcaya province, Autonomous Region of País Vasco). The identity of the pathogen was confirmed by the regional laboratory. The infested plot has an area of 800 m2. All the 14 500 plants of the plot were destroyed by burning. It is suspected that the source of the outbreak is the pine trees of the surrounding area. Containment measures are applied against Lecanosticta acicola in the area, and eradication measures have been applied in the infested nursery.
The pest status of Lecanosticta acicola in Spain is officially declared as: Present, only in some parts of the Member State concerned.
Sources
NPPO of Spain (2019-03).
Ortíz de Urbina E, Mesanza N, Aragonés A, Raposo R, Elvira-Recuenco M, Boqué R, Patten C, Aitken J, Iturritxa E (2017) Emerging needle blight diseases in Atlantic Pinus ecosystems of Spain. Forests 8, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010018