EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 11 - 2007 Num. article: 2007/210

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

Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heteroptera: Coreidae) is a forest insect of American origin feeding on seeds of several conifer species which was first found in France in September 2006. It is now reported from several departments in the south of France: Alpes-Maritimes, Ardèche, Gard, Hérault (Chapin and Chauvel, 2007). Present, in the south. It can be recalled that L. occidentalis has also been reported from Italy and Slovenia (EPPO RS 99/045 and 2006/159).

The presence of Stephanitis takeyai (Hemiptera: Tingidae, formerly EPPO Alert List) on Pieris and of Pezothrips kellyanus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae, formerly EPPO Alert List) on Citrus is reported in France (Streito and Martinez, 2005). Present, no details.

Tomato mosaic Havana virus (Begomovirus, ToMHV – formerly EPPO Alert List) was detected for the first time in Nicaragua in 2006 on tomato crops. Affected plants showed severe yellow leaf curl symptoms and a purple discolouration of the leaf margins (Monger et al., 2007). Present, no details. ToMHV was first described in Cuba and it has also been reported from Jamaica and Honduras (ProMed, 2006; GeminiDetective website).

Verticillium dahliae (EPPO A2 List) causing verticillium wilt of melon (Cucumis melo) is reported for the first time from Tunisia. The disease was observed in several greenhouses in the Chott Mariem and Souassi regions during spring 2006 (Jabnoun-Khiareddine et al., 2007). Present, Chott Mariem and Souassi regions.

Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum is the causal agent of a new serious banana wilt in Eastern Africa (EPPO RS 2003/171, 2005/119). It was first reported in Ethiopia on Enset ventricosum in 1968. It remained of low economic importance until 2001 when outbreaks occurred in central Uganda on banana (Musa spp.). Further outbreaks were then reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (eastern part), Rwanda, and Tanzania (Lake Victoria region). The EPPO Secretariat had no previous data on the occurrence of X. campestris pv. musacearum in Rwanda and Tanzania (Mwangi et al., 2007). Present, no details.

Xanthomonas vesicatoria (EPPO A2 List) occurs on tomato crops in Karnataka, India (Kavitha and Umesha, 2007). Present, found in Karnataka.

Xylosandrus germanus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) was found for the first time in Hungary in June 2005, in the county of Baranya (Lakatos and Kajimura, 2007). Present, found in 2005 in Baranya county.


Detailed records

In Iran, a survey was conducted to identify nematodes associated with potato crops. The presence of Ditylenchus destructor (EU Annexes) was detected in the provinces of Semnan and Tehran (Tanhamaafi et al., 2005).

In the USA, Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae – EPPO A2 List) also occurs in Kentucky and Virginia (Cooper and Rieske, 2007).

As reported in EPPO RS 2006/076, Heterodera glycines (EPPO A1 List) occurs in Paraguay. During a survey done in 2004/2005, it was found in 13 fields in the main soybean producing areas of the country. H. glycines was detected in the districts of Alto Parana, Canindeyu, and Caaguazu. H. glycines is considered to be a serious threat to soybean production in Paraguay (Sano and Pedrozo, 2006).

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus – EPPO A2 List) and Tomato mottle virus (Begomovirus – EPPO A1 List) were detected for the first time in Alabama (US). Both viruses were detected in 2005, and again in 2006, on commercial tomato crops (Akad et al., 2007).

In Mexico, it is considered that Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus, TYLCV – EPPO A2 List) was first introduced in the east coast and Yucatan region around 1996. TYLCV is now also reported in the western part of the country, in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora (Idris et al., 2007).


Host plants

‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (EPPO A1 List) was detected in Clausena lansium (Rutaceae) showing symptoms of huanglongbing in China (Ding et al., 2005).

In Spain, Iris yellow spot virus (Tospovirus – EPPO Alert List) was observed for the first time on commercial leek crops (Allium porrum cvs. Asthow, Edison, Shelton) in Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana (Córdoba-Sellés et al., 2007).

In the United Kingdom, Phytophthora ramorum (EPPO Alert List) was detected on Magnolia stellata, M. loebneri (Magnoliaceae) and Griselinia littoralis (Griseliniaceae) causing leaf infections. Affected trees were destroyed (Giltrap et al., 2007).

Tomato spotted wilt virus (Tospovirus – EPPO A2 List) was detected in Coprosma repens (Rubiaceae) showing necrotic spots and concentric rings on the leaves. The disease was observed in a nursery located in Catania Province, Sicilia (Italy) on potted plants (Polizzi and Bellardi, 2007).

In Italy, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus – EPPO A2 List) was observed for the first time on protected crops of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in the province of Ragusa, Sicilia (Davino et al., 2007).

Sources

Akad F, Jacobi JC, Polston JE (2007) Identification of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus and Tomato mottle virus in two counties in Alabama. Plant Disease 91(7), p 906.
Córdoba-Sellés C, Cebrián-Mico, Alfaro-Fernández A, Muñoz-Yerbes MJ, Jordá-Gutiérrez C (2007) First report of Iris yellow spot virus in commercial leek (Allium porrum) in Spain. Plant Disease 91(10), p 1365.
Chapin E, Chauvel G (2007) Nouveaux bio-agresseurs des végétaux d’ornement. Situation de quelques organismes émergents et d’importance pour les jardins et les espaces verts. Phytoma – La Défense des Végétaux no. 605, 18-21.
Cooper WR, Rieske LK (2007) Community associates of an exotic gallmaker, Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), in Eastern North America. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 100(2), 236-244.
Davino S, Salamone S, Iacono G, Accotto GP, Davino M (2007) [First report of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus on bean in Italy in greenhouse]. Informatore Fitopatologico no. 6, 47-49.
Ding F, Wang G, Yi G, Zhong Y, Zeng J, Zhou B (2005) Infection of wampee and lemon by the citrus huanglongbing pathogen (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) in China. Journal of Plant Pathology 87(3), 207-212.
Giltrap PM, Hugues KJD, Barton VC, Hobden E, Barber P, Izzard K (2007) Phytophthora ramorum on three new hosts detected using on-site diagnostics. Plant Pathology 56(4), p 728.
Idriss AM, Guerrero JC, Brown JK (2007) Two distinct isolates of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus threaten tomato production in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. Plant Disease 91(7), p 910.
Jabnoun-Khiareddine H, Daami-Remadi M, Ayed F, El Mahjoub M (2007) First report of verticillium wilt of melon caused by Verticillium dahliae in Tunisia. Plant Pathology 56(4), p 726.
Kavitha R, Umesha S (2007) Prevalence of bacterial spot in tomato fields of Karnataka and effect of biological seed treatment on disease incidence. Crop Protection 26(7), 991-997.
Lakatos F, Kajimura H (2007) [The first record of a new ambrosia beetle species, Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford, 1984), in Hungary]. Növényvédelem 43(8), 359-363 (in Hungarian).
Monger WA, Mumford RA, García EA, Boa E (2007) Occurrence of Tomato mosaic Havana virus in Nicaragua. New Disease Reports, Volume 16 (August 2007-January 2008). http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/jan2008/2007-69.asp
Mwangi M, Mwebaze M, Bandyopadhyay R, Aritua V, Eden-Green S, Tushemereirwe W, Smith J (2007) Development of a semiselective medium for isolating Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum from insect vectors, infected plant material and soil. Plant Pathology 56(3), 383-390.
Polizzi G, Bellardi MG (2007) First report of Tomato spotted wilt virus on Coprosma repens (Mirror Bush) in Italy. Plant Disease 91(10), p 1362.
Sano Z, Pedrozo LM (2006) Distribution of Heterodera glycines in Paraguay and its effect on the growth of soybean. Nematologia Mediterranea 34(1), 33-35 (abst.).
Streito JC; Martinez M (2005) Actualités entomologiques: nouveaux ravageurs introduits (période janvier 2000 à juin 2005). Annales de la 7ème Conférence Internationale sur les Ravageurs en Agriculture, Montpellier, FR, 2005-10-26/27.
Tanhamaafi Z, Omati F, Parvizi R (2005) [Endoparasitic nematodes and their population densities in potato fields of Tehran, Semnan and West Azarbayejan Provinces.] Iranian Journal of Plant Pathology 41(3), 187-191 (abst.).
INTERNET (last retrieved in 2007-11)
GeminiDetective website. Tomato mosaic Havana virus (ToMHV). http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/viruses/tomhv/index.htm
ProMed posting of 2006-03-09. Geminiviruses, vegetable crops – Jamaica. http://www.promedmail.org