Spread and occurrence of Erwinia amylovora
At the 6th International Workshop on fireblight several papers and posters were presented concerning the occurrence and the spread of fireblight in different countries where the disease is already present.
England: No major outbreaks of fireblight were reported from England. Blossom blight of secondary blossoms of cider apples was high in 1989.
Guatemala: It was reported at the workshop that E. amylovora has been present in Guatemala since 1966.
Italy: Besides the previously reported outbreak of fireblight in pear orchards of Apulia, a new outbreak was reported from Sicily. E. amylovora was found in one pear orchard producing a local pear cultivar.
Norway: The discovery of a fireblight focus in and around Stavanger in Norway in 1986 has led to extremely drastic internal quarantine regulations in Norway. An area of 300 km2 was quarantined with the removal of all Cotoneaster bullatus and C. salicifolius regardless of their health status. Since then, fireblight has been detected very seldom in this area and has not spread to others outside the quarantine zone.
Sweden: Since its discovery in 1986 the disease has spread to several orchards in the extreme south-eastern and south-western areas of the country. 39 pear orchards have been found were infestations occurred. In three of these orchards all pear trees were exterminated. The Plant Protection Service of Sweden is carrying out observations in the central and more northern regions of Sweden to detect a possible spread of the pathogen into the disease-free areas of the country.
Switzerland: The previously reported outbreaks of fireblight in the vicinity of Lake Constance have been eradicated by the removal and destruction of the infected Cotoneaster plants. A warning system has been built up which predicts the areas at risk which will then be closely monitored.
Turkey: E. amylovora was detected for the first time in Turkey in 1985. Since then the pathogen has spread within the country and the disease can now be found in all parts of Turkey.
Sources
6th International Workshop on Fireblight, Athens (1992-10-20/23)