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
Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A1 List) was detected for the first time in Burundi in 2016. A study conducted in 2016-2017 showed that B. latifrons is present in all agro-ecological zones of Burundi (Ndayizeye et al., 2019). Present, widespread.
Recent surveys conducted in Bhutan detected ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (EPPO A1 List) and citrus tristeza virus (Closterovirus, CTV – EPPO A2 List), either singly or as mixed infections in declining citrus trees. The pathogens were recorded in all four major citrus-growing districts of Bhutan, i.e. Tsirang, Dagana, Zhemgang and Sarpang. CTV isolates from Bhutan were found to be closely related to the severe VT strain. The EPPO Secretariat previously had no data on the occurrence of CTV in Bhutan (Ghosh et al., 2020). Present, only in some areas.
The presence of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) has now been confirmed in Portugal. The presence of the pest had been reported in 2019 but without any indication of localities. A recent paper confirms that the first specimen had been collected in November 2018 in the municipality of Pombal. Additional specimens were subsequently found in Pombal, as well as in the municipalities of Braga, Coimbra and Lisbon. Some of these findings were made in the framework of an awareness campaign initiated by the Portuguese Kiwifruit producers Association and the University of Coimbra (Grosso-Silva et al., 2020). Present, only in some areas.
High Plains wheat mosaic virus (Emaravirus, HPWMoV - formerly EPPO Alert List) was first detected in Canada (Abdullahi et al., 2020). It was detected during surveys in 2017 in Alberta on wheat (Triticum aestivum) and foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) plants. Present, restricted distribution.
Leptoglossus occidentalis (Hemiptera: Coreidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) occurs in Andorra. The first adult specimen was observed in October 2020 in the village of ‘Les Escaldes’ (van der Heyden, 2020). Present, no details.
Stephanitis takeyai (Hemiptera: Tingidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) occurs in the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, it was first reported in 2012 on Pieris japonica in an ornamental nursery in Tomiño (Pontevedra province, Galicia) (Pérez-Otero and Mansilla, 2012). In Portugal, S. takeyai was first found in September 2019 in the Porto Botanical garden on Pieris japonica (Grosso-Silva et al., 2020). Present, only in some areas.
Teratosphaeria zuluensis (formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time in Paraguay (Silva et al., 2020). Surveys were conducted in 2014-2016 in 3 out of 4 provinces in the Eastern Region, and T. zuluensis was detected causing stem cankers on Eucalyptus urophylla × grandis, E. grandis, E. grandis × camaldulensis, Corymbia citriodora. This is the first report of this pathogen in South America. Present.
Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae - EPPO Alert List) and its fungal symbiont Ambrosiella roeperi are reported for the first time from South Africa. Their identity was confirmed by morphological and molecular analyses. The ambrosia beetle was found in 3 provinces (Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo and Northern Cape) in traps and in stressed trees of avocado (Persea americana) and macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia x M. tetraphylla) (Nel et al., 2020). Present.
- Detailed records
Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae - EPPO A2 List) is first recorded from the eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey on chestnut trees (Castanea sativa) (Azmaz & Katılmış, 2020). It had been first reported in the Western part of Turkey in 2014 (EPPO RS 2014/104).
- Denied record
The NPPO of Australia recently informed the EPPO Secretariat that Clavibacter insidiosus (EPPO A2 List) is absent from Western Australia. Earlier records were based on a misinterpretation of an old publication (Anon., 1974) which referred to New South Wales and not to Western Australia. The NPPO confirmed that the bacterium has never been found in Western Australia (NPPO of Australia, 2020).
The pest status of Clavibacter insidiosus in Western Australia is officially declared as: Absent, no pest record.
- Epidemiology
Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (Begomovirus, ToLCNDV – EPPO Alert List) was shown to be transmitted from infested courgette (Cucurbita pepo) seed to young plants germinating from them (Kil et al., 2020).
- New pests and taxonomy
Bursaphelenchus juglandis n. sp. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae), is a new species of nematode described as being associated with the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae, EPPO A2 List), the vector of thousand cankers disease. This species was isolated from P. juglandis and from walnut trees with symptoms of thousand cankers disease, in California, USA (hybrid walnut trees, Juglans hindsii × (J. nigra × J. hindsii/J. californica), as well as from J. major, and J. californica). A PCR test with a species-specific primer was developed for detection of B. juglandis n. sp. (Ryss et al., 2020).
Sources
Abdullahi I, Bennypaul H, Phelan J, Aboukhaddour R, Harding MW (2020) First report of High Plains wheat mosaic emaravirus infecting foxtail barley and wheat in Canada. Plant Disease https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-20-0872-PDN
Anonymous (1974) 43rd Annual plant disease survey for year ending 20 June 1973, 34 pp. New South Wales Department of Agriculture, Rydalmere, Australia.
Azmaz M, Katılmış Y (2020) New infestation of Asian chestnut gall wasp in eastern black sea region, Turkey: a potential threat to natural regional chestnut population. Acta Biologica Turcica 33(4), 205-210.
Ghosh DK, Kokane A, Kokane S, Tenzin J, Gubyad MG, Wangdi P, Murkute AA, Sharma AK, Gowda S (2020) Detection and molecular characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ and Citrus tristeza virus associated with citrus decline in Bhutan. Phytopathology (early view). https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-07-20-0266-R
Grosso-Silva JM, Frias I, van der Heyden T (2020) Stephanitis takeyai Drake & Maa, 1955 (Hemiptera: Tingidae), new species for Portugal. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 22, 371-372.
Grosso-Silva JM, Gaspar H, Castro S, Louireiro J, Amorim F, van der Heyden T (2020) Confirmation of the presence of Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in mainland Portugal. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 22, 373-376.
Kil E-J, Vo TTB, Fadhila C, Ho PT, Lal A, Troiano E, Parrella G, Lee S (2020) Seed transmission of Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus from zucchini squash in Italy. Plants 9(5), 563. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9050563.
Ndayizeye L, Nzigidahera B, Gesmallah AE (2019) Current distribution of Bactrocera latifrons Hendel in the different agro-ecological zones of Burundi. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 39, 125–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-019-00013-w
Nel WJ, De Beer ZW, Wingfield MJ, Duong TA (2020) The granulate ambrosia beetle, Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), and its fungal symbiont found in South Africa. Zootaxa 4838(3), 427–435. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4838.3.7
NPPO of Australia (2020-11).
Pérez-Otero R, Mansilla JP (2012) [First report of Stephanitis takeyai Drake & Maa, 1955 (Hemiptera, Tingidae) in the Iberian Peninsula]. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 7, 201-204 (in Spanish).
Ryss AY, Parker C, Álvarez-Ortega S, Nadler SA, Subbotin SA (2020) Bursaphelenchus juglandis n. sp. (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae), an associate of walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, the vector of thousand cankers disease. Nematology, 1–30. doi:10.1163/15685411-bja10037
Silva X, Roux J, Asiegbu FO (2020) Diseases of eucalypts in Paraguay and first report of Teratosphaeria zuluensis from South America. Forests 11(10), 1035. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11101035
van der Heyden T (2020) First record of Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann, 1910 (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in Andorra. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 22, 377-38.