New finding of Peronospora aquilegiicola in Germany
Peronospora aquilegiicola, the downy mildew of columbines, was first reported in Germany in 2019 in a private garden in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) (EPPO RS 2020/131). The NPPO of Germany recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of new findings of this pathogen on plants of Aquilegia sp. in two commercial companies in another region, Nordrhein-Westfalen. In the first nursery, plants were grown outdoors. Out of the 6000 plants of the variety concerned, 2280 showed symptoms and were destroyed. The remaining plants were treated with plant protection products. Following the discovery of the first outbreak in Nordrhein-Westfalen, the plant protection service sent a warning note to the horticultural advisory service and another outbreak was detected. Eradication measures have been taken based on a preliminary Express-PRA. All the Aquilegia plants grown on the production site (87 620 plants) were declared infested and destroyed. The production site was cleaned of plants and plant debris. Official controls will be carried out in 2021 and 2022 including visual inspections and testing.
The pest status of Peronospora aquilegiicola in Germany is officially declared as: Present, under eradication.
Sources
NPPO of Germany (2021-05).
JKI (2020) Express – PRA zu Peronospora aquilegiicola. Available at https://pflanzengesundheit.julius-kuehn.de/index.php?menuid=57&downloadid=2766&reporeid=76