First outbreak of Rhagoletis cingulata in Slovenia
The NPPO of Slovenia recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first record of Rhagoletis cingulata (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List) on its territory. During a survey in June 2007, 276 specimens were caught on yellow sticky traps in sour cherry orchards (Prunus cerasus) in a rather small production area near the villages Lahonci, Desnjak and Savci (eastern Slovenia). A single specimen was also caught near the village of Radmožanci, close to the Slovene-Hungarian border. The identification of the pest was done by the officially approved laboratory of the Regional Agricultural Institute in Nova Gorica. The origin of the introduction of R. cingulata into Slovenia remains unknown, but the most plausible pathways are via the transport of infested fruits and the natural spread of the fruit fly within Europe*. After these first positive results, the monitoring will be intensified in 2008 to determine the extent of the infestation in Slovenia.
The status of Rhagoletis cingulata in Slovenia is officially declared as follows: Present, at low prevalence in eastern part of Slovenia.
______________
* In the EPPO region, the presence of R. cingulata has also been reported from: Germany, Hungary, Italy (Ticino), Netherlands, Switzerland (see EPPO RS 2004/087, 2006/003, and 2007/107).
Sources
NPPO of Slovenia, 2007-07.