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, and indicated in bold the situation of the pest concerned using the terms of ISPM no. 8.
- New records
During a survey carried out from April to August 2014 on virus disease of sweet cherry, Little cherry virus-1 (Velarivirus, LChV-1 – EU Annexes) was detected in 1 symptomatic leaf sample of Prunus avium cv. Napoleon from Beijing and in 1 asymptomatic bark sample of P. avium cv. Tieton from Daliang in Liaoning (out of a total of 28 samples tested). This is the first time that LChV-1 is reported from China (Lu et al., 2015). Present, few occurrences.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cydalima perspectalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was recorded for the first time in 2014. In 2015, the pest was found in several locations (e.g. municipalities of Čapljina, Ljubuški, Grude and Čitluk). Damage has been observed on Buxus sempervirens only. The pest is also reported to occur in Montenegro and Serbia (Ostojić et al., 2015).
In Greece, the presence of Cydalima perspectalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was recorded for the first time in October 2013 in Thermi (Thessaloniki, Northern Greece). In 2014 and 2015, more specimens were collected by entomologists and citizens in several other locations: city of Thessaloniki, village of Ano Lechonia (Pelion mountain), cities of Drama, Katerini, Kalamaria and Kifissia (near Athens). Heavy infestations were observed on Buxus sempervirens plants at the Benaki Phytopathological Institute and in several private and public gardens in Kifissia. This is the first time that C. perspectalis is reported from Greece (Strachinis et al., 2015). Present, first found in 2014.
In Slovakia, the first specimens of Cydalima perspectalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) were caught in 2012 near Bratislava (Pastorális, 2013). Present, first found in 2012.
In Spain, the first specimens of Cydalima perspectalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) were found in May 2014 on Buxus sempervirens in the southern part of the province of Pontevedra in Galicia (Pérez-Otero et al., 2014). Present, first found in 2014.
- Detailed records
Impatiens downy mildew caused by Plasmopara obducens (formerly EPPO Alert List) was observed for the first time in North Dakota (US) in 2013 on Impatiens walleriana (McGinnis et al., 2015).
In Spain, the presence of Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) was first reported in Cataluña in 2012 (see EPPO RS 2014/067). In 2013, the pest was found in Cantabria. In May 2014, it was first detected in Galicia in the provinces of Lugo, Ourense, and La Coruña. In Galicia, chestnut (Castanea sativa) is an economically important tree species cultivated for fruit production (Pérez-Otero and Mansilla, 2014).
- Eradication
In May 2015, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae – EPPO A2 List) was detected in the area of Cabo Rojo in Puerto Rico (see EPPO RS 2015/071). Eradication measures were implemented and included high density trapping, fruit removal, control measures, regulatory quarantine measures, and foliar bait sprays near the detection sites. At the end of June 2015, as no additional specimens could be found after a period corresponding to three life cycles of C. capitata, it was considered that eradication was achieved in the area of Cabo Rojo.
The pest status of Ceratitis capitata in Puerto Rico is officially declared as: Absent, eradicated (NAPPO, 2015).
- Diagnostics
A multiplex PCR has been developed in Japan for the identification of 4 thrips species: Frankliniella intonsa, F. occidentalis (EPPO A2 List), Thrips palmi (EPPO A1 List), T. tabaci (Nakahara and Minoura, 2015).
- New pests
A new nematode species, Bursaphelenchus ulmophilus sp. n., has recently been described in Russia. This nematode species was found in declining Ulmus glabra trees in parks in St Petersburg. These trees were affected by Dutch elm disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi). Studies have shown that B. ulmophilus is vectored by adults and larvae of the bark beetles Scolytus multistriatus and S. scolytus (Ryss et al., 2015).
A new nematode species, Ditylenchus arachis sp. n., has recently been described in China. This nematode species was found in peanut crops (Arachis hypogaea) in Shandong and Hebei provinces. Affected peanut plants showed pod rot and D. arachis could be recovered from roots, pegs, hulls and seeds (Zhang et al., 2014).
- New host plants
Although Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce) was previously considered to be immune to infection by Arceuthobium abietinum f. sp. concoloris (EPPO A1 List), 4 infected trees were observed in August 2013 near Suttle Lake in Oregon, USA (Oblinger, 2015).
Since 2009, symptoms of stunting, leaf yellowing and reddening, upward leaf curling and brittleness have been observed in commercial celery (Apium graveolens) fields located in several production areas of Spain (Alicante, Albacete, Murcia, and Valencia). This celery disease was observed every growing season with an incidence ranging from 1 to 10%. Studies were conducted to investigate the possible presence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (the potato haplotypes are listed in EPPO A1 List), Spiroplasma citri (EU Annexes), phytoplasmas and viruses. Twenty out of the 21 symptomatic celery plants tested positive for S. citri. Mixed infections with S. citri and another pathogen were detected in 7 samples: 4 samples with ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’, 1 with phytoplasmas belonging to the Stolbur group (16SrXII-A) and 2 with Celery mosaic virus. This is the first time that S. citri is found in A. graveolens (Alfaro-Fernández et al., 2015).
In Brazil, Meloidogyne enterolobii (EPPO A2 List) has been detected on Morus nigra seedlings showing root galls. These seedlings have been collected from plant lots transported by trucks in Itapetininga, Sao Paulo state (Paes-Takahashi et al., 2015).
Sources
Alfaro-Fernández A, Hernández-Llópis D, Ibáñez I, Rodríguez-León F, Ferrándiz JC, Sanjuán S, Font MI (2015) First report of Spiroplasma citri in celery in Spain. Plant Disease 99(8), p 1175.
Lu MG, Gao R, Chen RR, Wu B, Zhang ZX, Li SF (2015) First report of Little cherry virus 1 in sweet cherry trees in China. Plant Disease 99(8), p 1191.
McGinnis E, Kinzer K, LeBoldus J (2015) First report of impatiens downy mildew caused by Plasmopara obducens in North Dakota. Plant Disease 99(7), p 1039.
Nakahara S, Minoura K (2015) Identification of four thrips species (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Research Bulletin of the Plant Protection Service Japan no. 51, 37-42.
NAPPO Phytosanitary Pest Alert System. Official Pest Reports. USA (2015-08-21) Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean fruit fly) - Removal of quarantine area in the Cabo Rojo area of Puerto Rico. http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=633
Oblinger BW (2015) First report of white fir dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium abietinum f. sp. concoloris) on Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) from Oregon. Plant Disease 99(7), p 1041.
Ostojić I, Zovko M, Petrović D, Elez D (2015) [New records of box tree moth Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) in Bosnia and Herzegovina]. Radovi Poljoprivredno-prehrambenog fakulteta, Univerziteta u Sarajevu (Works of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Sarajevo) 60(65), 139-143 (in Croatian).
Paes-Takahashi VS, Soares PLM, Carneiro PA, Ferreira RJ, de Almeida EJ, dos Santos JM (2015) [Detection of Meloidogyne enterolobii in mulberry seedlings (Morus nigra L.)]. Ciência Rural 45(5), 757-759 (in Portuguese).
Pastorális G, Elsner G, Kopeèek F, Kosorin F, Laštůvka A, Lendela A, Liška J, Nimy J, Richter I, Stefanovie R, Šumpich J, Tokar Z (2013) [Fourteen Lepidoptera species new to the fauna of Slovakia]. Folia Faunistica Slovaca 18, 1-12 (in Slovak).
Pérez-Otero R, Mansilla JP (2014) [The chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951 (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) arrives to Galicia (NW of the Iberian Peninsula]. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 12, 33-36 (in Spanish).
Pérez-Otero R, Mansilla JP, Vidal M (2014) [Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859 (Lepidoptera, Crambidae): a new threat for Buxus spp. in the Iberian Peninsula]. Arquivos Entomolóxicos 10, 225-228 (in Spanish).
Ryss A, Polyanina KS, Popovichev BG, Subbotin SA (2015) Description of Bursaphelenchus ulmophilus sp. n. (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchinae) associated with Dutch elm disease of Ulmus glabra Huds. in the Russian North West. Nematology 17, 685-703 (via PestLens).
Strachinis I, Kazilas C, Karamaouna F, Papanikolaou NE, Partsinevelos GK, Milonas PG (2015) First record of Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Greece. Hellenic Plant Protection Journal 8, 66-72.