EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 06 - 2007 Num. article: 2007/107

New data on quarantine pests and pests of the EPPO Alert List


By browsing through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests and pests included on the EPPO Alert List. The situation of the pest concerned is indicated in bold, using the terms of ISPM no. 8.

  • New records
Coconut lethal yellowing phytoplasma (EPPO A1 List) is reported for the first time on the Island of Nevis, St Kitts-Nevis (Myrie et al., 2006). Present, reported in 2005 on Nevis Island.

The presence of Cylindrocladium buxicola (EPPO Alert List) is reported from Ireland and the Netherlands (Henricot, 2006). Present, no details.

Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae – EPPO A2 List) occurs in Iran (Haghani et al., 2007). The EPPO Secretariat had no previous data on the occurrence of this pest in Iran. Present, no details.

Rhagoletis cingulata (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List) was reported for the first time in 2006 in Hungary (Szeőke, 2006). Present, no details.

Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola (EPPO Alert List) was detected for the first time in Taiwan in November 2005. The disease was observed on poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) plants growing in nurseries in the Taichung county (Lee et al., 2006). Present, first found in 2005 in Taichung county.

From 2004 to 2005, samples of rice showing leaf blight symptoms were collected from different areas of the Guilan province, in Iran. Laboratory studies using morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular methods (PCR) confirmed the presence of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (EPPO A1 List) in diseased samples (Kazempour et al., 2006). Present, first found in 2004/2005 in Guilan province.


  • Detailed records
In Japan, Bemisia tabaci (EPPO A2 List) biotypes B and Q were both detected (Ueda and Brown, 2006).

Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (EPPO A2 List) was found in 2005 in Baja California in Mexico (Holguín-Peña et al., 2006).

In Greece, the presence of Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (Crinivirus - EPPO A2 List) is reported from the islands of Crete and Rhodos, and from the prefecture of Arkadia in the Peloponnese (Boubourakas et al., 2006).

In the USA, Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae – EPPO A1 List) was reported for the first time in Louisiana in 2006 (Vitullo et al., 2007).

In Poland, Pepino mosaic virus (Potexvirus, PepMV – EPPO Alert List) was reported once in 2002 and all affected plants were destroyed (EPPO RS 2003/043). PepMV isolates have now been divided into 3 strains: European tomato, Peruvian and US2. The Polish isolate detected in 2002 was found to be genetically similar to other European isolates (European tomato strain). In November 2005, in the western part of the Wielkopolska region, PepMV was detected again. Molecular studies (RT-PCR, sequencing) showed that this Polish isolate was distinct from all other PepMV isolates reported so far (Pospieszny ; Borodynko, 2006).

In a survey done in Colombia, Potato yellow vein virus (Crinivirus – EPPO A1 List) was detected in potato leaf samples collected from the Antioquia, Cundinamarca and Narino departments (Guzmán et al., 2006).

In the Czech Republic, sporadic occurrence of Stolbur phytoplasma (EPPO A2 List) was detected on tomatoes in 2000-2001. Since 2004, the pathogen has been spreading to different hosts in southern Moravia. So far, it has been detected on potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), peppers (Capsicum annuum), aubergines (Solanum melongena), celery (Apium graveolens) and the weed Solanum nigrum (Linhartova et al., 2006).

During studies done in Ethiopia, strains of Ralstonia solanacearum (EPPO A2 List) isolated from different host plants were characterized. Both race 1 (biovar 1) and race 3 (biovar 2) were detected (Lemessa, 2006).

In Malta, Verticillium dahliae (EPPO A2 List) was found for the first time on potato fields near Luqa in 2005. The low severity of symptoms observed by the growers in the fields, usually mistaken for normal dieback of aged plants, might explain why V. dahliae had never been reported before on potatoes in Malta (Pace-Lupi et al., 2006).

  • Host plants
Tomato ringspot virus (Nepovirus – EPPO A2 List) is reported for the first time on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) in Jordan. The virus was detected in approximately 6.5% of the tested grapevine samples (Salem et al., 2006).

In November 2004, Phytophthora ramorum (EPPO Alert List) was detected in the United Kingdom on a Parrotia persica (Hamamelidaceae) tree which was showing necrotic leaf lesions and twig dieback. The affected tree was destroyed (Hughes et al., 2006).

Sources

Boubourakas IN, Avgelis AD, Kyriakopoulou PE, Katis NI (2006) Occurrence of yellowing viruses (Beet pseudo-yellows virus, Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus and Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus) affecting cucurbits in Greece. Plant Pathology 55(2), 276-283.
Guzmán M, Ruiz E, Arciniegas N, Coutts RHA (2006) Occurrence and variability of Potato yellow vein virus in three departments of Colombia. Journal of Phytopathology 154(11-12), 748-750.
Haghani M, Fathipour Y, Talebi AA, Baniameri V (2007) Thermal requirement and development of Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on cucumber. Journal of Economic Entomology 100(2), 350-356.
Henricot B (2006) Box blight rampages onwards. The Plantsman, September, 153-157.
Holguín-Peña RJ, Vázquez-Juárez RC, Rueda-Puente EO (2006) Bacterial canker caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis on tomato in the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. Plant Disease 90(12), p 1550.
Hughes KJD, Giltrap PM, Barton VC, Hobden E, Tomlinson JA, Barber P (2006) On-site real-time PCR detection of Phytophthora ramorum causing dieback of Parrotia persica in the UK. Plant Pathology 55(6), p 813.
Kazempour MN, Ghasemie E, Padasht F (2006) Detection and identification of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae – the causal agent of bacterial blight in Iran. Mitteilungen aus der Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft Berlin-Dahlem no. 400, p 350.
Lee YA, Wu PC, Liu HL (2006) First report of bacterial leaf spot of poinsettia caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. poinsettiicola in Taiwan. Plant Pathology 55(6), p 823.
Lemessa F (2006) Physiological and pathogenic characterization of strains of bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) from Ethiopia. Mitteilungen aus der Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft Berlin-Dahlem no. 400, p 216.
Linhartova S, Cervena G, Rodova J (2006) The occurrence of potato stolbur phytoplama on different hosts in the Czech Republic. Mitteilungen aus der Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft Berlin-Dahlem no. 400, p 456.
Myrie WA, Paulraj L, Dollet M, Wray D, Been BO, McLaughlin W (2006) First report of lethal yellowing disease of coconut palms caused by phytoplasma on Nevis Island. Plant Disease 90(6), p 834.
Pace-Lupi TG, Porta-Puglia A, Ippolito A, Nigro F (2006) First record of Verticillium dahliae on potato in Malta. Plant Disease 90(8), p 1108.
Pospieszny H, Borodynko N (2006) New Polish isolate of Pepino mosaic virus highly distinct from European Tomato, Peruvian and US2 strains. Plant Disease 90(8), p 1106.
Salem N, Mansour A, Al-Musa A, Al-Nsour A (2006) Occurrence of Tomato ringspot virus on grapevines in Jordan. Phytopathologia Mediterranea 45(2), 161-162.
Vitullo J, Wang S, Zhang A, Mannion C, Bergh JC (2007) Comparison of sex pheromone traps for monitoring pink hibiscus mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 100(2), 405-410.
Szeőke K (2006) [First report about the occurrence of American eastern cherry fruit fly (Rhagoletis cingulata Loew.) in Hungary.]. Növényvédelem 42(8), p 470 (in Hungarian).
Ueda, Brown JK (2006) First report of the Q biotype of Bemisia tabaci in Japan by mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequence analysis. Phytoparasitica 34(4), 405-411.