Eradication of Anoplophora chinensis in Croatia
As reported in EPPO RS 2009/047, Anoplophora chinensis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae – EPPO A2 List) was found for the first time in Croatia in September 2007 in a nursery in Turanj (Zadarska county). The pest was identified on Acer palmatum and Lagerstroemia seedlings which had been originally imported from China in February 2007. Following the laboratory identification, eradication measures were taken. All infested, suspicious and susceptible plants were burnt. Other plants in the nursery were closely monitored and their movement was prohibited for a period of two years. A specific survey programme for A. chinensis was initiated in 2008 to determine whether the pest had been successfully eradicated at the location where it was first recorded, and to eventually detect its presence at other locations in Croatia. Intensive visual inspections and sampling programmes were carried out in nurseries and garden centres that are registered for import, distribution or production of A. chinensis host plants, as well as in forest areas located in the vicinity of Turanj and near large sea ports. Samples were collected from host plant seedlings showing signs of infestation (visible exit holes, living larvae in the stems, adult beetles and sawdust) and were inspected in the laboratory. In 2008, laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of A. chinensis at the same location on 22 samples of Acer palmatum imported from China and 7 samples of Rosa spp. seedlings produced in Croatia (out of a total of 38 collected samples).
In 2009, a total of 42 Acer palmatum samples were collected from the nursery in Turanj, tested in the laboratory and 38 were positive. All infested Acer palmatum seedlings were incinerated together with the soil.
As 2010 was the third year since the specific survey programme had been initiated and A. chinensis larvae were still being found, appropriate measures were ordered to prevent any further spread and damage to other plant species. In the nursery in Turanj, 45 infested Acer palmatum seedlings (out of 46 samples) and all remaining Acer palmatum seedlings (4;257) which originated from the same source (consignment imported from China in 2007), were incinerated together with the soil. Moreover, all Rosa spp. seedlings (41) from domestic production that were also subject to the specific survey in the nursery in Turanj were destroyed in the same way. So far, the pest has not been found in inspected locations in the forests. Further intensive surveys will nevertheless be continued in the future.
The pest status of Anoplophora chinensis in Croatia is officially declared as: Absent, first found in 2007 on Acer palmatum and Lagerstroemia seedlings imported from China, eradicated.
Sources
NPPO of Croatia (2011-11).