EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 01 - 2000 Num. article: 2000/004

New data on quarantine pests or pests of the Alert List


By browsing through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests.

  • New geographical records
Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) occurs in Iran. It causes a disease of tomato in Varamin and Shahriar, near Tehran. Review of Plant Pathology, 78(12), p 1167 (8799).


  • Detailed records
Aleurocanthus spiniferus (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) is present in Sichuan, China. Review of Agricultural Entomology, 87(12), p 1573 (11750).

Claviceps africana (EPPO Alert List) occurs in Oklahoma (US) on sorghum (Claflin ; Ramundo, 1999).

Surveys were conducted in Martinique in 1997/1998 on citrus tristeza closterovirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest). It was estimated that the average disease incidence is 21 %. Commercial orchards were less infected than citrus trees in private gardens. 20-30 year-old trees and limes showed the highest infection rate (approximately 34 %). Trees grafted on Citrus volkameriana showed no symptoms of the virus. Review of Plant Pathology, 78(12), p 1184 (8920).

In South Africa, Eotetranychus lewisi (EU Annexes) occurs in Western Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Northern Province (Smith Meyer ; Creamer, 1999).

In Argentina, maize Mal de Rio cuarto fijivirus (EPPO Alert List) was detected in provinces of Tucuman, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Entre Rios, Buenos Aires, la Pampa, San Luis and Rio Negro. Review of Plant Pathology, 78(12), p 1140 (8606).


  • Vectors
Studies carried out in Minnesota on vectors of Ceratocystis fagacearum (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) suggested that the main nitidulid species transmitting the pathogen from diseased to healthy oaks are Colopterus truncatus and C. sayi (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) (Juzwik et al., 1999). It may be noted that the EU Directive refers only to Arrhenodes minutus, Pseudopityophthorus minutissimus and P. pruinosus as vectors of the fungus.

Sources

EPPO Secretariat, 2000-01.
Review of Agricultural Entomology, 87(12). December 1999.
Review of Plant Pathology, 78(12). December 1999.

Claflin, L.E.; Ramundo, B.A. (1999) Overwintering survival of Claviceps africana, causal agent of ergot disease of grain sorghum.
Phytopathology, 89 (6), Supplement, S16.

Juzwik, J.; Skalbeck, T.C.; Neuman, M.F. (1999) Nitidulid species associated with fresh wounds on red oaks during spring in Minnesota.
Phytopathology, 89 (6), Supplement, S38.

Smith Meyer, M.K.P.; Creamer, C. (1999) Mites (Arachnida: Acari) as crop pests in southern Africa an overview.
African Plant Protection, 5(1), 37-51.