EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 08 - 2011 Num. article: 2011/177

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 on the EPPO Alert List. The situation of the pest concerned is indicated in bold, using the terms of ISPM no. 8.

  • New records
Cylindrocladium buxicola (formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time from Croatia. It was found on Buxus sempervirens in 2009 in a park in Opatija (Cech et al., 2010). Present, no details.

Guignardia citricarpa (EPPO A1 List) occurs in Cuba. Its presence was first reported in 2007, and recent studies showed that both G. citricarpa and G. mangiferae can be found simultaneously on citrus fruits in Cuba (Hidalgo Gongóra and Pérez Vicente, 2010). Present, no details.

In 2008, Iris yellow spot virus (Tospovirus, IYSV - formerly EPPO Alert List) was detected for the first time on onion (Allium cepa) crops in Mauritius. Surveys carried out in the main onion-growing areas of the island showed that IYSV was detected in 66% of the symptomatic samples (IYSV was not detected in asymptomatic samples). Further studies will be carried out to evaluate its incidence and impact on yield (Lobin et al., 2010). Present, no details.

In 2009, Iris yellow spot virus (Tospovirus, IYSV - formerly EPPO Alert List) was detected for the first time on leek (Allium porrum) crops in Sri Lanka (Widana et al., 2010). Present, no details.

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ associated with huanglongbing (EPPO A1 List) has recently been detected in Puerto Rico in commercial citrus orchards (Estevez de Jensen et al., 2010). Present, no details.

In Kenya, the most common Liriomyza leafminers are: Liriomyza sativae, L. trifolii and L. huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae – EPPO A2 List). They attack a variety of commercial crops, such as: Lycopersicon esculentum, Phaseolus coccineus, Phaseolus vulgaris, Pisum sativum, Solanum tuberosum and numerous cut flowers (Gitonga et al., 2010). This paper confirms the presence of L. huidobrensis in Kenya (this species has been intercepted many times by EPPO member countries) and the EPPO Secretariat had previously no data on the occurrence of L. sativae in Kenya. Present, no details.

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus, TYLCV – EPPO A2 List) is reported for the first time from Mauritius. In September 2009, TYLCV was detected on field tomato crops in the Southern part of the island (Lobin et al., 2010). Present, no details.

  • Detailed records

In September 2010, a few specimens of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae – EPPO A2 List) were caught in Jura (Franche-Comté region) and in Lorraine, France. The pest now occurs in 5 French regions: Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, Bourgogne and Rhône-Alpes. However, it was not caught in Ile-de-France (Decoin, 2010).

According to studies carried out on the genetic diversity of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (EPPO A1 List), huanglongbing also occurs in the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan
(Hu et al., 2011).

In Germany, the presence of Monilinia fructicola (EPPO A2 List) was first reported in 2010 (EPPO RS 2010/016) in Baden-Württemberg, in an orchard in fruits of Rubus fruticosus (blackberries) and in an adjacent orchard in fruits of Prunus domestica (plums). In June 2010, M. fructicola was also detected on apples (Malus domestica cv. Jonagold) in a garden in Fronhausen, Hessen (Grabke et al., 2011).

In Chile, Phytophthora pinifolia (EPPO Alert List) was first observed on a large Pinus radiata plantation in Raqui, on the Arauco coast in 2004 (see EPPO RS 2009/006). It rapidly spread from the initial foci (70 ha) to 60 000 ha in 2006. Between 2007 and 2008, the affected area reduced to less than 500 ha, and remained confined to road borders and specific zones in the plantation (most of them are close to the coast). Recent genetic studies on the population structure of P. pinifolia have showed that a single clonal genotype is dominant which supports the hypothesis that P. pinifolia is an alien species of recent introduction into Chile (Durán et al., 2010).

Stenocarpella macrospora (EPPO A2 List) occurs in Illinois (US). In 2008 and 2009, it was detected on symptomatic leaf samples collected from maize (Zea mays) plants in the counties of Pope, Gallatin and Vermillion (Bradley et al., 2010).

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus, TYLCV – EPPO A2 List) occurs in Baja California Sur, Mexico. TYLCV was detected on Capsicum annuum together with Tomato chino La Paz virus (Cardenas-Conejo et al., 2010).


  • Eradication

In a paper from Matsuura et al. (2011), it is mentioned that Tomato chlorotic dwarf viroid caused devastating damage to tomato plants in commercial greenhouses in Hiroshima and Chiba Prefectures in 2006, but that it has since been eradicated from Japan.

  • New host plants

In 2008, betelvines (Piper betle, Piperaceae) showing leaf blight symptoms were observed in central Taiwan. Infections resulted in 30 to 70% losses in the production of leaves. Symptoms began with small, necrotic, water-soaked spots that progressed to circular or irregularly shaped brown lesions with chlorotic halos on leaves. Laboratory studies confirmed the presence of Acidovorax citrulli (EPPO Alert List) in diseased plants. This is the first report of this bacterium naturally infecting a non-cucurbit plant. Inoculation studies have indicated that betelvine strains could infect melon plants (Cucumis melo) (Deng et al., 2010).

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (EPPO A1 List) was detected in naturally infected plants of Atalantia ceylanica and Severinia buxicola (Rutaceae) in the USA (Ramadugu et al., 2010).

In 2008 and 2009, Spiroplasma citri was detected in commercial fields of carrots (Daucus carota) in several areas of Spain (Alicante, Segovia and Valladolid). Affected plants showed leaf curling, yellowing and purple discoloration, stunting of shoots and tap root, and formation of bunchy, fibrous secondary roots. Although there had been earlier records of ‘carrot purple leaf’ from Washington state in the USA, this is the first time that S. citri is detected on carrots in Europe (Cebrián et al., 2010).


Sources

Bradley CA, Pedersen DK, Zhang GR, Pataky NR (2010) Occurrences of Diplodia leaf streak caused by Stenocarpella macrospora on corn (Zea mays) in Illinois. Plant Disease 94(10), p 1262.
Cardenas-Conejo Y, Arguello-Astorga G, Poghosyan A, Hernandez-Gonzalez J, Lebsky V, Holguin-Peña J, Medina-Hernandez D, Vega-Peña S (2010) First report of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus co-infecting pepper with Tomato chino La Paz virus in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Plant Disease 94(10), p 1266.
Cebrián M. C., Villaescusa FJ, Alfaro-Fernández A, Hermoso de Mendoza AMC, Córdoba-Sellés MC, Jordá C, Ferrándiz JC, Sanjuán S, Font MI (2010) First report of Spiroplasma citri in carrot in Europe. Plant Disease 94(10), p 1264.
Cech T, Diminic D, Heungens K (2010) Cylindrocladium buxicola causes common box blight in Croatia. Plant Pathology 59(6), p 1169.
Decoin M (2011) Phyto-région. Franche-Comté. Diabrotica dans le Jura. Phytoma – La Défense des Végétaux no. 637 p 5.
Deng WL, Huang TC, Tsai YC (2010) First report of Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli as the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight of betelvine in Taiwan. Plant Disease 94(8), 1065-1065.
Durán A, Gryzenhout M, Drenth A, Slippers B, Ahumada R, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2010) AFLP analysis reveals a clonal population of Phytophthora pinifolia in Chile. Fungal Biology 114(9), 746-752.
Estevez de Jensen C, Vitoreli A, Roman F (2010) Citrus greening in commercial orchards in Puerto Rico. Phytopathology 100(6 Suppl.), S34.
Gitonga ZM, Chabi-Olaye A, Mithofer D, Okello JJ, Ritho CN (2010) Control of invasive Liriomyza leafminer species and compliance with food safety standards by small scale snow pea farmers in Kenya. Crop Protection 29(12), 1472-1477.
Grabke A, Hu MJ, Luo CX, Bryson PK, Schnabel G (2011) First report of brown rot of apple caused by Monilinia fructicola in Germany. Plant Disease 95(6), 772-772.
Hidalgo Góngora EI, Pérez Vicente L (2010) Diferenciacion morfologica, cultural y biologica de Guignardia citricarpa y Guignardia mangiferae en frutos citricos de Cuba. Fitosanidad 14(3), 141-152.
Hu WZ, Wang XF, Zhou Y, Li ZA, Tang KZ, Zhou CY (2011) Diversity of the omp gene in Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in China. Journal of Plant Pathology 93(1), 211-214.
Lobin K, Druffel KL, Pappu HR, Benimadhu SP (2010) First report of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus in tomato in Mauritius. Plant Disease 94(10), p 1261.
Lobin K, Saison A, Hostachy B, Benimadhu SP, Pappu HR (2010) First report of Iris yellow spot virus in onion in Mauritius. Plant Disease 94(11), p 1373.
Matsuura S, Matsushita Y, Usugi T, Tsuda S (2010) Disinfection of Tomato chlorotic dwarf viroid by chemical and biological agents. Crop Protection 29(10), 1157-1161.
Ramadugu C, Manjunah KL, Halbert SE, Brlansky RH, Roose M, Lee RF (2010) Characterization of huanglongbing associated ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticum’ from citrus relatives. Phytopathology 100(6 Suppl.), S107.
Widana Gamage SMK, Hassani-Mehraban A, Peters D (2010) Identification of Iris yellow spot virus on leek (Allium porrum) in Sri Lanka. Plant Disease 94(8), 1070-1070.